Loose Ends
by Jane McCartney
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. [Chapters 24-29 updated - COMPLETED!]
1. Think Warm Thoughts

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
The sky of Los Angeles was full of stars at that moment, a fact that could at the least be considered unusual for a city like this.  
  
The darkness had already settled over the streets and alleys of the City of Angels, and the creatures of the night were out anxiously looking for their next victim.  
  
In one particular alley, a young man was resting against a crashed wall, while he tried to get his breath back.  
  
He was dressed in dark blue jeans and gray jacket, over a black T-shirt. His hair was a complete mess, with a few dark locks falling down over his face; he had bruises and scratches on his arms and chest, that were still bleeding weakly.  
  
He got up, and the young man started off along LA's streets once again; his eyes full of despair and confusion.  
  
"You've got to do this. You've got to. It's the only way and you know it, you coward."  
  
The fear was easily heard in his weak voice, while he was trying to complete his mission. It would be a long and hard night, he knew that. And he needed to be ready - which was the hardest part.  
  
With uncertain steps, he finally stopped in front of the Hyperion hotel's main door. For a single instant, his heart rate started to accelerate and he found himself breathless. The man tried to calm down, and won enough self-control to make his entrance into the hotel.  
  
What he found was an empty and quiet place - at least, for one or two seconds. Then three or four voices started to fill the interior of the residence with a loud racket, which immediately scared the young man.  
  
Jumping onto his feet, he just stared at the four confused faces that appeared and started analyzing him up and down.  
  
One of the brunettes took the first step, with a babbling that obligated the visitor to make a mental note of Willow's new competitor in this area - which actually created a half-smile on his face for the first time in days, even weeks.  
  
"Hi! Welcome to Angel Investigations, and we hope that we can help you with your problem. You've got money to pay to us, right? Not that it's all about money, we'll help either way. I think. It's just that they'll cut off our electricity soon, and we need George Washington and his friends in our hip pockets to stop that rude fact. That's the cruel price of modern life, I believe, but - wait, stop. You're a client, right?" Fred looked around, and saw that none of the other persons inside the hotel had as yet spoken a single word.  
  
She kept going, "It's a monster problem, or that kind of thing? You look pretty scared, really. We can help you, right? Wesley? I kinda need support here."  
  
Once again Fred won no answer from her friends, who kept their eyes locked onto this stranger. The Texan girl finally gave up and stepped back, waiting for someone to end the weird silence.  
  
And Gunn turned out to be the one to do so.  
  
"Hey, I know you! You're that Sunnydale guy, right? The one who Cordelia-"  
  
"Gunn, shut up!" Cordelia shouted, sending a dark look to her friend. One that instantly gave Gunn the idea that he should just obey her, if he had any love for his life and he'd like to keep his butt intact.  
  
The next one to introduce his voice into the already disturbed ambience was Wesley. "Xander? I - I mean, we - we didn't know that you'd be coming today, is there a problem back in Sunnydale?"  
  
When the former Watcher got no answer for his question, he looked concerned to Cordelia.  
  
"Xander?" Cordelia's voice was fearful, and at the same time perplexed. "Is everything OK? I mean, you look awful - even more awful than the usual awful."  
  
The brunette seemed relieved when her tentative attempt to break Xander's discomforting silence was successful. And a genuine smile was born on the lips of her ex-boyfriend.  
  
"Yep, there's the Cordy I know."  
  
Xander's answer was unexpected at least for the others in the hotel, considering the fact that a few seconds ago the guy had seemed like he was bearing the world's worst news or something.  
  
Then Xander thought to himself that maybe he should calm down. He couldn't generate suspicions about himself, or he'd ruin everything - which would certainly be a genuine Xander-like thing, but that couldn't be allowed to happen this time.  
  
Not this time, 'cause his friends were depending on him. A lot of people were depending on him. Even the whole world, maybe.  
  
Great. If there was a God, it was definitively a stupid one to put the fate of the world into his hands.  
  
Anyway, these four didn't know what had happened and they didn't know what the hell he was doing in LA - and the whole 'I'm-in-silence-and-acting-like- a-freak' thing wasn't a good idea right now.  
  
He simply needed to calm down, and try to act like old Xander. Should be a great time to come up with an excuse or something like that, he thought matter-of-factly.  
  
"So, Xander," Wesley said. "May we know the reason for your unexpected visit?"  
  
"Aren't you supposed to wear tweed?" Xander's statement instantly made appear an evil grin on Cordelia's face.  
  
"There isn't a bloody Watcher's manual for that kind of stuff, OK?" Wesley seemed a little irritated for an instant, but his curiosity immediately replaced it. "Now can we know anything more about your sudden appearance in LA?"  
  
"Oh, right. Why am I here? It's a good question, a real good one, ya know? And you'll get the answer right now, 'cause I certainly have one."  
  
"You're babbling! It's that bad, huh?" Cordelia's voice sounded suddenly panicked.  
  
"I'm not babbling!" Xander tried to stand up for himself, and his former girlfriend sent him an incredulous look.  
  
"Oh, you're so babbling! As in, if there's a land of babblingness you'd absolutely be the King of it!" Her features were getting agitated at this point. "I know you Xander, at least enough to know when something's wrong."  
  
"I'm here representing Giles, OK? He had those demon books for you guys, and I'm only here to make sure you receive them."  
  
"Where are those books, then? 'Cause I can only see this horrible bag that you've got under your arm, and I can't think of a single way that books can actually fit into that."  
  
Cordelia was about to go on with her little speech, but something caught her attention first. "What's that?" Her voice sounded frightened for a moment.  
  
Xander suddenly froze. The first thought that actually crossed his mind was a "Damn it" one. "Those scratches in my hand? I just fell down the stairs, that's all," he said in a fake humorous tone.  
  
"Really, it's nothing important. Ya know, Sunnydale's prize for fighting evil without the whole 'I'm the Chosen One' spiel." Unfortunately, none of Xander's words seemed to convince the brunette.  
  
"Xander, I'm serious!" Cordelia exploded, while winning curious looks from both Fred and Gunn.  
  
On the other hand, Wesley was staring at Sunnydale's former odd couple with something near a half-smile. He and Angel were the only ones who knew how much Cordelia and Xander, together, always seemed to represent a potential disaster area.  
  
The brunette girl continued, "Why do I have the impression that you're tellin' us a big fat lie, huh? Do we really need to push so we can get the truth outta you?"  
  
Xander grinned at Cordelia's concern. "I didn't know you cared so much, Cordy."  
  
"Hey, who said I cared? I-I don't! Truly!" Cordelia's rage grew, when she observed that everyone in the lounge was sending her grins and incredulous looks. "OK, maybe I care a little," she admitted. "But that's just a little, moron. Like I'd care for a...a dog, or a piece of candy!"  
  
"This is not true, Cordelia. Please," Wesley pointed out. The young woman just settled a dark look onto her British friend.  
  
"Some things never change, I guess."  
  
Xander's words were spoken sadly, but nobody seemed to notice that. Instead, Cordelia was disappointed by the fact that Xander thought she was still the same girl she'd been, when she'd left Sunnydale.  
  
The 'bitca' one.  
  
Oh boy, if he only knew what I've gone through since Graduation, he'd get a slap on the face for that - metaphorically or otherwise. Maybe both, she concluded with an evil grin.  
  
"I hate to cut short this chat between old friends, but I believe some of us would enjoy a explanation here," Gunn pointed at Fred's confused features. "If one exists, that is."  
  
"I believe we would all enjoy an explanation from you, Xander. I don't yet understand the true motive that brings you here in LA." Wesley's interruption didn't bother Gunn at all, since the young vampire hunter was embraced by the euphoria about something he could actually understand.  
  
"Um - the chicks, maybe? Hollywood? I always wanted to meet the celebrities in this city, ya know."  
  
While Xander was trying to hide his true reason for the whole Los Angeles trip, the other four looked him up and down once again, with their stares of incredulity.  
  
His voice became serious. "I'm here with Giles' books, I already told you guys. They're in my hotel room - if a five-dollar room with smashed windows and crawling with cockroaches can possibly be called hotel accommodations. But that doesn't matter, so it's OK I guess."  
  
Fred just laughed, but both Gunn and Wesley shared suspicious looks.  
  
***  
  
Hey, folks! To be continued soon... Hope I'll see you all there! 


	2. Shades Of Gray

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
Cordelia was getting annoyed - it was like so obvious that Xander was hiding something, but he still refused to admit it.  
  
Real 'Xander' kind of behavior on his part - and stupid behavior, at that.  
  
She understood him better than he knew, that was for sure. And, even after all this time away from almost any connection with Sunnydale - a.k.a. the Hellmouth - seeing Xander seemed to reconnect old memories, from the inside of her buried thoughts.  
  
The ones she usually avoided, whenever the topic of Sunnydale came up in her new life. Now, those same memories were hitting Cordelia somehow even stronger than she'd ever thought they could.  
  
"This is too strange for me, you know? Suddenly you're here, and everything that you say - it seems, like, complete bull. I think you're tryin' to hide something very bad from us, Xander. I just hope that, no matter what it is, it'll stay at least 200 feet away from me or any of my friends."  
  
The brunette sent a good stare onto her former enemy, and later boyfriend. "And I'll get real angry if it's something you knew about all along."  
  
"You don't wanna see her angry, man, believe me. I mean it..." Gunn's words came with a mocking grin, that instantly made Cordelia grow angry with her friend's statement.  
  
"I think I know exactly what you're talking about," Xander replied with a grin, keeping his eyes locked onto the brunette who sent another murderous glance at the as-yet strange guy.  
  
"Cordy," Xander's voice became in serious in tone, "I'm sorry if I didn't tell you guys I was coming. Never crossed my mind, ya know? But it isn't a problem this time, no Armageddon or anything like that."  
  
She's gonna believe it, right?   
  
"I don't believe you, Xander."  
  
Damn it!   
  
"Look, Xander. I'm sorry too. But it's just that..." Cordelia seemed to be searching for the right words to say, "Not to sound grandma, but you guys from Sunnydale, you never call, write or just drop by. The only time lately, it's been Willow - and that was to tell us... and that was a hell of a time for Angel, he got all spacey with...you know what, alright?"  
  
"You can say it, Cordy. Buffy's death." Xander's eyes met hers.  
  
"Yeah, right. That. So, I'm thinking that I just got scared when I first saw you. That's all. Sorry, OK?"  
  
The young woman avoided his eyes this time. Fred, Gunn and Wesley were silently staring at the other two faces in the lounge, exchanging looks amongst themselves.  
  
"Wait - is Cordelia Chase really apologizing to me? L.A., huh? Gotta love this city."  
  
The brunette sent him an annoyed glance. "You're a real ass, Harris."  
  
"Me? Well, you're - you're such a moron, Chase."  
  
"Jerk!"  
  
"Tramp!"  
  
"And I cannot imagine why I suddenly feel the onset of 'déjà vu'," Wesley commented ironically, then focusing his attention on his feet as he walked to the other side of the hotel's lounge.  
  
Cordelia and Xander were less than a meter away from each other, glaring intensely when the girl abruptly started to scream, the vision blasting into her mind.  
  
The visitor from Sunnydale caught the seer almost immediately, putting his arms around her back and pulling Cordelia up so she'd not hit her head on a nearby desk.  
  
"Cordy, are you OK?" Xander's voice showed true concern.  
  
"She's OK, Xander, I can assure you," Wesley said calmly, while he and Gunn finished resting Cordelia on the closer chair.  
  
The girl tried to win back her breath. "Boy, that was a strong one, huh?" She looked at Xander's scared face. "You didn't know about this?"  
  
"It's the vision thing, right? It's just that I've never been with you before, ya know, when something like that happens. You sure you're OK?"  
  
She grinned. "I didn't know you cared so much, Xander."  
  
He replied with a murderous glance, "You're unbelievable."  
  
"So?" Gunn looked concerned at the moment. "What is it this time?"  
  
"Three - no, four vampires, two students. A boy and a girl, both about 16 years old I guess. We still have a few minutes - wait, it's near Lorne's bar Caritas, so we gotta go now!"  
  
Cordelia got up in a second, winning strange looks from everyone in the lounge. She didn't give anyone a chance to stop her. "I know you guys don't like me going with you after a vision, but it'll be hard this time and you three know about that, right?"  
  
"I'll get the stakes and everything else we'll need, OK? But I don't think it's a good idea you coming with us," Charles Gunn stated.  
  
Cordelia was about to retaliate against Gunn's statement, but the man had already left the lounge.  
  
"Where's Deadboy, anyway?"  
  
Cordelia, Fred and Wesley stared at Xander. "Isn't he supposed to go out and hunt these things with you guys? Ya know, his quest for redemption and all that. Buffy told me something along those lines anyway, I'm pretty sure."  
  
"Well, Angel is a bit - off, right now. He faced a demon last night, and he'll need some time to recover. Just one or two nights, it's an ancient spell that puts the enemy to sleep. Fortunately, Gunn and myself finished off the demon without Angel's help. We've just lost him for the next two nights." Wesley seemed proud to relate their victory over the peculiar demon.  
  
"God, I cannot remember how long it's been since I last heard that stupid nickname you gave Angel," Cordelia's face parted into a mocking grin.  
  
Both Wesley and Fred shared curious and at the same time funny glances, at Cordelia's reaction of her friend's sudden re-entrance into her life.  
  
On the other hand, Xander seemed serious about this particular subject - another thing that the group didn't spot.  
  
"Is he here?"  
  
Xander's question surprised Wesley and Cordelia. When the dark-haired young man understood that fact, he instantly tried to cover it up with his habitual behavior. "Ya know, I'd just hate to meet him in the hallways without any warning - and my money says he thinks the same way I do. In fact, I'm 100 % sure of it. He still wears those 'I'm-the-ultimate- mysterious-guy' black clothes, huh?"  
  
Damn it. He was so babbling.  
  
"He wears blue now! And other colors too! And - he also smiles. Sometimes," Cordelia's voice adopted a sudden protective tone.  
  
Great! She hadn't noticed his babbling this time, and he could go on with...wait, smiles? Angel, smiling? What the hell is happening in this crazy world?   
  
Xander knew he could face ugly demons and even a...well, sort of a musical day, but Angel plus smile equals smiling Angel? OK, that was too strange.  
  
"Alright, now you're gonna tell me that he also sings and - wait. He can also walk in the sunlight too, right?" Xander's voice was full of irony and incredulity, which actually irritated Cordelia.  
  
"Well, the sun part happened twice! If another world counts, anyway. And his voice isn't exactly Frank Sinatra's, but he can also handle himself in that department! I guess...OK, not really..."  
  
She paused for an instant. "But now he's so far away from what he was back in Sunnydale, it's not funny. And you know I wouldn't say that if it wasn't true," the brunette girl stepped back triumphantly, after she finished her short speech.  
  
"He also made a joke last week. A funny one!" Wesley accomplished, equally protective.  
  
"And he knows how to prepare delicious eggs too," said Fred, not really knowing exactly why they were standing up for Angel against this boy, but liking the fact that they were doing it.  
  
Cordelia was ready for any kind of joke or retaliation from Xander; but instead, the young man was filled with a sudden sadness that she couldn't exactly decipher. Something the seer could easily affirm was there, though, settled deeply in Xander's eyes.  
  
At that moment, Gunn entered the lounge with a bag full of stakes, crossbows and bottles of holy water. The vampire hunter grabbed one of the weapons, an oddly shaped stake.  
  
"Can we go now?" His features looked exactly like the ones of a fearless fighter.  
  
"We were just waiting for ya. Let's go kill some bad guys!" Cordelia pretended she didn't see the concerned looks from her friends, and made her way to the Hyperion hotel's front door.  
  
"Tough girl. Stubborn one too," exclaimed Gunn in Xander's direction, while he was running to the hotel's exit followed by both Fred and Wesley. "By the way, I'm Gunn. It was nice to meet one of Cordelia's Sunnydale friends!"  
  
"Fred!!!" screamed the Texan girl, already outside.  
  
"You're not coming with us? We could actually use a little help," questioned Cordelia, turning around before going out the door.  
  
"Sorry, gotta make a few calls," replied Xander, with a nervous grin.  
  
"Coward," muttered the brunette, a second before she left to join the other three and then leave with them on her vision quest.  
  
The silence then took over the Hyperion hotel, and every little detail of the place now seemed dark and bizarre to Xander's eyes. With the Angelites gone, he quickly started to find himself breathless once again.  
  
While taking a picture out of his jacket pocket, he rested against one of the residence's walls. In the photograph, a smiling Dawn was hugging her sister Buffy, while Tara and Willow shared a soulful embrace.  
  
Giles was at the desk, and he and his precious Anya were on the other side, faking Hollywood noir kind of looks into the camera.  
  
Why me?   
  
It was the only question that came into his mind, at this moment. The single, cruel one.  
  
It had seemed unfair since the beginning - given that he'd probably screw everything up, like he always seemed to do.  
  
It was truly terrifying knowing that he was actually the best bet on the table - definitely a sign that something was very wrong. Very, very wrong.  
  
But he needed to do it, right? And it shouldn't be that hard.  
  
OK. I'm almost convinced now, Xander thought to himself with an ironic headshake.  
  
Cut the crap, Xandman. You got the time factor working against you, ya know? Remember that? Good. Do it now. For them. You've got to.   
  
"It's now or never," the young man challenged himself, grabbing his bag and walking through the residence's lounge. He'd do it, and he was ready. It was now or never.  
  
I'm walking - good, here I go. One step, another one. Wow, three steps already! Great, that's the spirit. Four, five, six steps. You can do it, Xander. Focus. You're doing amazingly well.   
  
The young man stopped.  
  
I guess never is an excellent choice after all.   
  
"Pussy," Xander exclaimed, getting annoyed with himself.  
  
He glanced at the picture one more time, and then remembered the recently departed Fang Gang. A single tear fell down his scared features.  
  
I'm going to do it.   
  
Xander entered the hallways, looking anxiously for the right door. He carefully opened three rooms, before he finally found the correct one.  
  
Here it was. Angel's room.  
  
With hesitant moves and trembling hands, Xander looked into his bag, searching for a crossbow.  
  
He needed to kill Angel.  
  
*** 


	3. Friendly Fire

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
The souled vampire was lying on his bed, his features looking unusually peaceful. Xander couldn't remember a time when he'd looked so damn defenseless, even during those hell-of-a-time days before Graduation; with the whole 'Faith-in-psycho-mode' and 'shooting the vamp boyfriend with a poison stake' thing. Even then, Deadboy hadn't had such a helpless appearance.  
  
All of this just kept getting better and better. Fantastic. Couldn't Angel at least *try* to not look like some frickin' Boy Scout? It would certainly make his little 'kill the vampire' plan a lot easier.  
  
The dark-haired young man made his first move, attempting to get a few steps closer to Angel. His hands were shaking so hard and his heart was beating so fast, that Xander suddenly found himself sobbing in front of the vampire.  
  
Not a good time to get into chicken-mode, buddy boy.   
  
"Right...now or never, then. You can do it," Xander mumbled, trying to muster enough courage for the final and harder move.  
  
He took the crossbow into his hands.  
  
And remembered Buffy and Cordelia.  
  
Very bad move. Oh, God.   
  
Xander was a few seconds away from killing one of the most important persons in both girls' lives, the same girls that were two of the most important people in his own life. And then there was Fred, Gunn and Wesley too, equally needing and caring about Angel. And even the whole goddamn crazy city of L.A., crying out for his help.  
  
Shit! He so couldn't do this. He was such a coward.  
  
Not that that was news, anyway.  
  
The truth was that, Xander was afraid about what would happen later. It was as simple as that - he was selfish.  
  
He didn't want to face their accusing eyes, even knowing that this was the right thing to do. The indispensable thing to do, too - or everyone he had ever cared about would pay for his unforgivable mistake.  
  
And, something he'd never thought he would actually think as well - it wasn't fair to Angel either, it really wasn't.  
  
But anyway, life wasn't fair, and nobody said it had to be any other way.  
  
"I'm sorry, Deadboy. I really am," Xander murmured guiltily.  
  
He pointed the crossbow at Angel's heart direction.  
  
And then he screamed out loud.  
  
***  
  
The Fang Gang moved through the streets of Los Angeles, strangely silent during the entire trip. Next to Lorne's bar Caritas, two adolescents were fooling around, when the boy accidentally hit Cordelia's shoulder.  
  
"Hey! What's your problem, punk? Are you blind or just stupid?!" The brunette's words were as sharp as a knife.  
  
"S-sorry...I, I've gotta go. I'm sorry," the boy quickly apologized in the face of the seer's anger.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," said Cordelia, keeping up her annoyed expression.  
  
She turned to her friends. "Can you believe it? We're, like, saving lives here, and those kids are running around like freaks or something! I definitely cannot understand today's teenagers."  
  
"Um, Cordy? Aren't those the teenagers from the vision?" Gunn asked pointedly.  
  
"Oh. Yeah, right, I knew that. I was just testing you guys," snorted the brunette girl, not able to look right into her friends' eyes.  
  
The girl, a thin Afro-American adolescent with colorful clothes and scared expression, stopped as soon as she'd considered the fact that her friend wasn't following her anymore. Quickly turning around, she saw people who'd seemed to appear from nowhere.  
  
"C'mon, Daniel! They might be one of them, we gotta git! Damn it, Dan! Move your ass!" The girl's voice sounded panicked, and her hands were shaking real hard.  
  
"Hey! Wait, we're here to help you!" shouted Wesley, while both teenagers started an infuriating run along the streets of Los Angeles.  
  
"Weren't the vampires supposed to be here?" Fred's question sounded more like a statement.  
  
"Hey, beautiful. Lookin' for us? 'Cause I'd hate to keep you waiting for long," sneered what seemed to be the leader of the vampire gang, a tall and blonde guy with a black leather jacket and a rusted metal belt surrounding his lanky waist.  
  
Fred instantly stepped back with a scream of surprise, and Cordelia shook her head in annoyance.  
  
"God, do all you guys have some kind of weird crush on Billy Idol or something?"  
  
The vampires growled, and started to make a circle around Cordelia, Gunn, Wesley and Fred.  
  
"Ya talk too much, gorgeous, but I bet you'll be a better snack than that skinny girl or her weirdo boyfriend," said another vampire, a redheaded boy shorter than the Billy Idol wannabe, but twice as big in terms of muscle.  
  
"Hey! Are you calling me fat?" the brunette seer snapped angrily, while Gunn and Wesley started to analyze the alley and their conditions to fight against this vamp gang.  
  
"One for each one of us, OK? And somebody else please take the brunette, I could do with a little silence for my meal," commanded the blonde vampire, now taken as the leader of the enemy group for sure by the Fang Gang.  
  
"Not a problem, boss. I know I'll enjoy every itty-bitty noise made by the princess here," declared the redheaded vampire with malicious voice and strong Texan accent. Moving faster than the eye could see, he softly started smoothing Cordelia's hair with his fingers.  
  
"Get your dirty hands off me, creep!" replied the young woman violently, starting to move away.  
  
The vampire abruptly grabbed her left arm, putting his game face on. "Or what, princess? Huh? How can you ever hurt me? Afraid now, beautiful? Wait for the best part, then."  
  
"Back off, you jerk!" screamed Cordelia, while trying to think of the best way to get herself away from him.  
  
But the vampire was much stronger than she was, and all attempts to escape by the brunette young woman were fruitless. The redheaded vamp yanked away the hair from her neck, not being intimidated at all by her continuous protests.  
  
Playfully, he caressed her thigh and murmured soft words in her ear, "Shh, doll-face. This'll just take a second. Now shut your goddamn mouth and stay quiet, so I can finish off the part where I kill you, comprende?"  
  
In a short break from his own fight, Wesley was able to register Cordelia's peril. "Gunn, Fred! We must help Cordelia! She's in dang-"  
  
The former Watcher was interrupted by a strong punch to his face, from his taller opponent. Getting onto his feet once again, he took one of the stakes in his hand and quickly shoved the piece of wood into the vampire's heart.  
  
"Now that was a bloody good stroke!" exclaimed Wesley proudly, while looking at the scenario around him. "And nobody saw it. Great."  
  
"Get away from me, your lousy bloodsucker!" Cordelia's protests weren't having any effect anymore. The redheaded vampire had already inclined his head above the girl's neck, and his strength had her arms immobilized and useless at this point.  
  
Suddenly, when the vampire's fangs was a few millimeters away from her neck, the undead killer felt something heavy hitting him again and again on his back, continuous blows that started to actually bother him. He turned around, and growled at his attacker.  
  
"You little bitch! I'm kinda busy here, do you mind?" the asshole screamed violently.  
  
Fred stepped away with a long piece of metal on her hands, found a few seconds earlier in the alley. Catching her breath and gathering her strength, she took a crossbow tossed by Gunn and shot at his back, in the direction of the vampire's heart.  
  
Dusted.  
  
"Fred! You saved my life! That's so...strange. But, hey, I'm talking and very alive, so I'm perfectly OK with that!" exclaimed the taller brunette, brushing away the dust on her red blouse.  
  
Fred laughed shyly and at the same time proudly to Cordelia, while both Gunn and Wesley approached the two young women.  
  
A few minutes later, the Fang Gang was on their way back to the hotel.  
  
"So...that Xander guy. You two were pretty close, right?" Gunn asked furtively.  
  
"So?" Cordelia retorted impatiently.  
  
"So, nothing. Well, I'm just saying that we could tell that earlier, you know. When you two were together."  
  
"Tell what?" questioned the brunette girl, raising an eyebrow at her friend's sudden interrogation.  
  
"That you were pretty close," answered the young vampire hunter, while Fred and Wesley were sending mocking glances at Cordelia's reaction to the questions.  
  
"Oh, yeah, you all find this so funny! Let's all laugh at Cordelia's - oh, shit, not again!"  
  
Suddenly, her world was once again filled with confused images, and Cordelia started to scream at the almost unbearable pain.  
  
//Two men, a fight.//  
  
//Two familiar men, a fight.//  
  
//A familiar man and a familiar vampire, a fight.//  
  
Damn. This so isn't being good news!   
  
"Cordelia? Talk to me! I - I think we should take her to a hospital, this thing is gonna kill her one day!"  
  
That British accent...she knew it.  
  
"Cordy, are you there? Bloody hell, I think she's unconscious."  
  
Oh God, Wesley! I just saw Angel and Xander in my vision, and they're gonna kill each other! We gotta hurry, now!   
  
"Huh?" she whispered weakly.  
  
Great move, girl. The next time, remember the whole talking part, OK?   
  
"Cordelia? Can you hear me?" Wesley's voice showed a concern that immediately frightened Cordelia.  
  
"Yeah, I can. I guess. Xander..." she was trying to talk, but it was like her voice simply wouldn't obey her anymore.  
  
"Is Xander in danger?" snapped an agitated Fred.  
  
"No...I - I'm not sure, but I think he's gonna kill Angel," the brunette said, while trying to stand up with Gunn's help.  
  
The other three started to laugh loudly, making Cordelia raise an incredulous eyebrow.  
  
"Oh my, Cordelia, that was a good one! Just imagine - Xander, killing Angel..." Wesley began, noticing that the young seer looked enough serious to make him wonder what the hell that could mean, if it wasn't in fact a joke. "Dear God, you're serious about that?"  
  
Wesley's statement actually took Gunn by surprise.  
  
"No way! I mean, not wanting to sound like the freaking president of Angel's fan club, but Xander's no match for the guy! Didn't look like, at least. Okay, I know about the whole 'Deadboy' thing, but don't you guys think that killing him sounds way overboard - or is that just me?" His voice had a mocking tone, but his irony vanished at the same moment he saw Cordelia's frightened eyes.  
  
"Guys. I just realized, I-I've never told anyone in Sunnydale about the vision stuff. Ever. And Xander knew about it," her voice was full with such astonishment that Fred, Gunn and Wesley were immediately gripped by a sudden fear.  
  
"Let's go, then!" Fred's agitation was easily seen by her nervous glances at her friends.  
  
"No, wait. I - there's no way this could happen. I mean, it's Xander!" Cordelia suddenly snorted.  
  
"Or a demon with his face," Gunn retorted matter-of-factly.  
  
"It's still majorly unlogical. We know for sure that he's not a vampire, I saw his reflection and, well, he didn't try to drink our blood, ya know? C'mon guys, why Xander? And why now? It's just too weird, I can't buy it. Sorry, but I just can't buy it," said the young seer tiredly.  
  
"But you saw it, didn't you?" Fred protested loudly.  
  
"And also," Wesley paused, a shocked expression covering his features, "Angel wouldn't be able to fight back. He's still out of it, in theory. Whoever or whatever tries to hurt him, it'll be probably successful."  
  
"Oh shit," Cordelia whispered simply, while fear and panic seemed to suddenly fill her whole soul.  
  
*** 


	4. House Of Cards

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
"You look so beautiful!" said an agitated Dawn.  
  
"Beautiful? Ha! Try perfect! I'm so gonna turn Xander on with this!" retorted a smiling Anya.  
  
"I mean, I don't really need anything other than the naked me to do that, but I look so hot with this on!" said the former vengeance demon, once again running to the mirror and staring at her reflection.  
  
"This is the first time I've seen a prospective bride in leather, I'll give you that," said Buffy, in keeping with the spirit that had already overtaken everyone else in the bridal shop.  
  
In the middle of the room, Anya was standing with a white leather dress, that came down to about one foot above her knees. Anya's wedding outfit also had no sleeves and a deep low neckline, and was joined with a pair of white gloves and shoes. A delicate veil covered her radiant face, and in Anya's hands was a generous bouquet of red roses.  
  
"Wow! You look amazing, Anya!" exclaimed Willow, who had just arrived in the room.  
  
"Thanks, Willow! Wait - you're not talking in a lesbian way, right?" a suddenly confused Anya questioned the Wicca.  
  
Willow rolled her eyes and met Tara's, the smile never leaving her face.  
  
"Sorry - me and Xander really are working on that thing about what I should, y'know, never say in public. And I think that's the 28th one on the list, but I'd have to look it up to be sure. Oh! Wait, I think Number 28 is actually the one about inappropriate comments regarding masturbation, to the male's friends. Anyway, thanks! In the lesbian way or not, I'm flattered," the new owner of the Magic Box finished apologetically.  
  
"I guess that's the 29th thing on the list, then," Dawn murmured sarcastically, for only Buffy to hear. The Slayer simply returned the comment with an evil grin.  
  
"No, no, no," began Anya, who had listened to the sisters' private conversation, making Dawn automatically blush and avoid the bride-to-be's glance at her. "I remember now, it's the 30th!" she said euphorically, overtaken by the natural happiness of the day.  
  
"I'm sorry you guys, it's just that I'm so anxious about getting married to Xander! My stomach is all full with giant butterflies right now, and my hands are sweating...but, how lucky am I? I mean, I know that none of you can get what I'm talking about - for one thing, Buffy is the ultimate disaster in terms of serious relationships-"  
  
"Hey! I am not!" protested Buffy.  
  
Anya continued, ignoring the Slayer's words. "And Willow and Tara, you're both gay and can't really get married - oh, wait. Twenty-first century, I forgot. Well, nevermind. And Dawn is way too young to get hitched, unless she does something stupid - like get herself pregnant and become a teenage mother, so I..."  
  
Anya was about to continue with her speech, but four furious gazes made her stop immediately. Self-preservation instinct kicked in - no way was the ex- demoness gonna mess with the Slayer, or her sister, or the two powerful witches right now.  
  
After all, she couldn't really get married if they put her in the hospital, right? Or worse - Willow and Tara could send her to another dimension commanded by giant bunnies, without shrimp and with no Xander sex to ever be had again.  
  
Check, no messing up the wedding day.  
  
"Damn it!" snorted Anya, at the other four girls' glances. "I guess that makes Number 48 on the 'Things You Should Never Say' list, huh?"  
  
"Forty-eight? I thought you were in the 50's already," offered Buffy, breaking the strange silence that had taken over the room for a short moment.  
  
"Nah, but I'm sure I'll get there soon," Anya commented absent-mindedly. "Isn't Giles here yet?" her voice seemed suddenly worried.  
  
"Relax, his flight arrives at eight o'clock. We still have half an hour, and the wedding's at nine. He'll make it," Willow replied softly, easily seeing the worry in Anya's gaze. She knew that the former demon cared about Giles a lot, and the invitation for him to walk her down the aisle was perfect proof of such.  
  
OK, maybe the fact that he was also the oldest male person Anya knew had counted a little as well.  
  
"He better, or I...I'll see his English butt staked out on an anthill!" exploded the soon-to-be Anya Harris, as she began to pace around.  
  
"Ewww," Dawn chimed in, winning the curiosity of the four other girls. "Sorry. My bad, but the visual..."  
  
Willow offered an empathetic look to the younger girl, and Tara and Buffy just exchanged mocking glances.  
  
At the same time, Anya stopped in the corner of the room and whispered absent-mindedly, "Gee, I wonder what Xander's doing right now..."  
  
***  
  
Angel couldn't understand what the hell was happening to him, at that very moment.  
  
Quickly, he grabbed the flying wooden crossbow bolt from less than five centimeters away from his heart and, feeling completely lost in the chaotic scenario, instinctively looked up.  
  
That was when he saw the figure of a dark-haired young man, a few steps away in the darkness of the room, as he threw the shaft aside.  
  
Xander?! What the hell is Xander do-   
  
Like something was reading his mind and giving him the answer for his half- formed question, another arrow painfully bruised the vampire's flesh, managing to make a superficial hole in his chest.  
  
It provoked a menacing growl from Angel, at the sudden sensation of fire burning his skin.  
  
Oh, great. He's trying to kill me.   
  
Xander automatically stepped back, as Angel looked at him with what seemed to be great confusion. The dark-haired boy nervously started to once again adjust his crossbow, to try for another shot.  
  
Angel gazed at the young man in puzzlement, as the vampire made an effort to get up - then he decided that anything he'd need to wonder about regarding these unreal seconds, really had to wait for a later time.  
  
After all, Xander was trying to kill him. No, hold on - why didn't those words seem to fit together into a believable sentence?  
  
Oh, right - the whole 'Xander' plus 'killing him' part. Pretty much obvious, actually.  
  
Yes, Angel would've instantly laughed at this particular statement a few seconds ago, but - what the hell - if this wasn't some kind of weird hallucination as a result of yesterday's demon attack, and a very crazy one at that, he'd more than likely end up being a pile of dust in the very next second.  
  
OK, so the boy was here. With a crossbow. Killing him. Well, trying to.  
  
Xander seemed slightly lost at Angel's sudden awareness. Moving to another spot of Angel's room, he re-pointed the crossbow at the confused vampire - but Angel was faster and managed to take it out of his hands, tossing the weapon across the room before the dark-haired young man could actually shoot him.  
  
"You - you don't understand, this has to be done! It has to, Angel! I've got to do this, even if I don't want to!"  
  
Xander's words were spoken in such a desperate but firm tone that Angel had the distinct impression of a violent shiver passing through the boy's hole body - from the highest gel-soaked lock of hair to the toes of both feet, yep, all of it.  
  
It wasn't a very pleasant sensation, at all. But damn it, the kid's mind seemed to Angel to be pretty much utterly screwed up at the moment, anyway.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about, Xander? Have you completely lost every shred of sanity in that pint of grey mush you call a brain? Damn it! Can't I have even one single normal day in my life?"  
  
Oh, like an urge for normality coming from a vampire with a soul isn't a little ironic? Just a bit, maybe? That's unlife for ya, Deadboy, Xander shivered again at an almost unconscious level.  
  
But Alexander Lavelle Harris was not about to make any ironic comments or smart comebacks at this moment. The young man simply didn't feel in the mood for any of that right now.  
  
The attempt of the ensouled vampire to look for any trace of an acceptable explanation was quickly stopped by Xander's gaze at himself, by the sight of the most darkened and scared eyes Angel had ever seen in his entire life - and unlife, too.  
  
The vampire with more than two centuries worth of emotional baggage felt it was safe to assume that some heavy shit was about to go down. And when using the word 'heavy', the former Scourge of Europe really meant it.  
  
Angel could tell somehow, it was as simple as that. Xander's eyes couldn't hide it.  
  
They were so full of despair, and at the same time peace - peace with this mission of some sort that the boy had reluctantly accepted. Or something like that, anyway.  
  
Angel just knew it; he could even feel it.  
  
In the space of a heartbeat - not that he had one, but it didn't really matter then - Angel took his first real look at the dark-haired boy, since this whole crazy thing had started. And with it the bizarre events, that hadn't allowed him to produce any sane thoughts till then.  
  
If the man who was now standing in front of him with those wide-open and scared eyes was the same boy who'd had the unique capacity of annoying him as no one had ever previously managed to do - well, apart from Spike, who wasn't exactly someone to put into the human category and so didn't really count - well, if this Xander was that boy, the wicked and annoying kid who used to stand up for Buffy, then he was Carmen Miranda.  
  
Well, perhaps someone without so much fruits above his head. Whatever.  
  
But he could simply see it so easily; there was no way in hell that things were currently kosher in Xander Harris' mind.  
  
Damn it, he didn't even call me Deadboy! Not a good omen, not at all. For God's sake, not even a funny comment about my hair or my clothes or... Well, anything about him, that was a target for Xander's sarcasm.  
  
Any other time, it would have happened. Just not now.  
  
But there were two things that would truly lead Angel into Xander's torn private universe. Apart from the fact that the boy had shot at him with that crossbow, naturally.  
  
His haunted eyes. The eyes of someone that have seeing too much, even if in such short time. So full of sadness, weariness, shame...  
  
And yet, there was also rage. Purely and deeply settled into Xander's slightly lost look, it lay there waiting.  
  
Such disturbed sorrow, that was so strong it made Angel's insides suddenly shiver. And the rage - it seemed like an indefatigable predator, slowly devouring every part of Xander's being in its unstoppable torture.  
  
Angel knew that rage. Too much so for his own good, certainly. He was, somehow, that rage.  
  
For the souled vampire, it was named Angelus; his inner demon that lived buried inside him, fighting with every inch of its dark strength, in every weak spot of Angel's being, to return and eradicate the humanity of his soul.  
  
And Angel recognized that same rage, that same confused pain and tumultuous feeling settled deep in Xander's fearful eyes.  
  
And there was also the blood on him, the second and most terrifying clue.  
  
The unmistakable aroma of its sweetness, its stink of death and softness known closely by all of his kind. Xander had been hurt recently, even if it was a bearable wound; Angel could smell it.  
  
This doesn't make any sense. What the hell is Xander's problem, damn it?   
  
Angel almost felt sorry for him.  
  
But another flying crossbow bolt didn't really allow him any more time for that, through.  
  
***  
  
Um, guys, I'd really, really love your reviews. Pleeease? In the next part, I'll probably give more clues about Xander's behavior, OK? Wait for some few surprises too... 


	5. Ask Me No Questions, I'll Tell You No Li...

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
"Hurry up! Damn it Wes, you're driving too slow!" yelled Cordelia, her short hair flying furiously with the wind blowing against her face.  
  
"I'm going at full speed here! And just for the record, I've been pulled over for so many speeding violations in this country, it's not funny! I mean good Lord, you have never had to pay the fines as a result of urging me to break the traffic laws, and that's not exactly bloody fair!" Wesley retorted defensively.  
  
"What a bloody shame," the brunette seer snorted impatiently, intentionally imitating an English accent.  
  
"Guys, guys, please, shut up! We're close now, and this 'tude ain't gonna get us anywhere, all right? And also, it's really annoying if ya ask me," Gunn protested loudly.  
  
"I didn't ask you!" shouted Wesley and Cordelia, both at the exact same time.  
  
"Stop it! Stop it! I mean - um, we didn't ask you to start fighting the entire way back to the hotel! It's only making everybody more nervous, and it's not quite a wise thing right now! Our... our Angel, he can be killed and I know that you two are afraid, and it's not a genuine threat 'cause it's that Xander boy, and it's strange, but yelling at each other really isn't going to get us anywhere!" demanded Fred, shocked with herself for yelling in such an impatient tone.  
  
"So, so, I'm with Gunn, it's annoying," completed the Texan girl quietly.  
  
The former Watcher and the young seer almost gasped in surprise and shame, at Fred's words. They locked eyes for an instant, and a strange silence took over the car for a few brief moments.  
  
"She started it!" Wesley then exclaimed pointedly.  
  
"Me?! Well, well... up yours, Wesley!" the brunette young woman replied promptly.  
  
"See what I mean?" the Englishman pointed out to the others.  
  
Fred and Gunn just groaned. This was going to be a long ride.  
  
"Oh," Cordelia suddenly squeaked.  
  
No one actually bothered to listen to the brunette girl.  
  
"Oh, oh, oh!" the young woman continued loudly. This time, everybody's thoughts were broken by her cries.  
  
"Well, what is it?" demanded the former Watcher.  
  
"You said Angel would be unconscious, right? That he wouldn't be able to fight back," asked Cordelia, with a shocked expression covering her features.  
  
"Yes, I did," Wesley answered carefully.  
  
"That's not what's gonna happen," the seer stated simply.  
  
"Your vision," the British man sighed, the obvious but lost perspective of the night's odd events confusing him even more at this point.  
  
"What the hell are you guys talkin' about?" questioned Gunn.  
  
Fred stared at the exchange of confused and nervous glances between her two friends, and then at a lost Gunn demanding answers from them.  
  
What was really ironic, was that she had initially thought that this night would be actually a calm and blissful one for a change.  
  
"I saw it, they were fighting, and Angel was pretty much, well, not asleep," the brunette girl said softly, still taken aback by the shock of the sudden revelations.  
  
Wesley interrupted her. "But what's utterly odd, is that Xander wouldn't exactly be a major threat - what with Angel's supernatural strength and all. And, we also have to consider the fact that this isn't a normal situation - in any way. There's no reason why we should believe that Xander's been possessed by any kind of demon, he didn't actually send out any signs for such a thing back at the hotel."  
  
Both Fred and Gunn gazed the former Watcher with growing curiosity. Cordelia just sighed nervously.  
  
He continued, "If the Powers That Be sent a vision; and please, correct me if I'm wrong, Cordelia; of the two of them locked in a deadly fight, nothing more than that - no matter the... the wrong side, let us say - then that means that either Angel or Xander could-"  
  
"Be killed by the other one," Gunn finished softly.  
  
The car stopped violently in front of the Hyperion's front door, parked on the sidewalk without any real care, and the four members of the Fang Gang promptly made their way into the interior of the hotel.  
  
With heavy steps and unsure gazes, they sped through the old corridors of the Hyperion and ran directly to Angel's room, led by Cordelia.  
  
And all their fears came true, in one single moment.  
  
***  
  
"Um - d-don't freak out," Buffy began nervously, the words barely managing to come out of her mouth.  
  
"OK, then, don't give me a reason to," replied Anya, her voice already betraying her futile attempt to stay calm.  
  
Ever since Xander's proposal, she'd thought of at least a thousand problems that could ruin the wedding ceremony. So close to the big day, she'd now dropped most of her paranoia and finally believed that everything would actually go perfectly OK.  
  
Then again, maybe 50 or 60 things could still represent a real risk to this day; which certainly included a massive attack of an evil bunny army, to open the Hellmouth.  
  
Anya was happy that she wasn't being all paranoid anymore. Just realistic.  
  
Tara, Willow and Dawn quickly jumped out of their seats. They glanced at Buffy, and already prepared themselves for the major - and very possible bad - news waiting to be told by the Slayer.  
  
"So? Spill!" the former demoness demanded loudly.  
  
"Okay, okay," blurted out Buffy, pacing back and forth around the room. "This is the deal. Giles was at your apartment, to pick up Xander, and... well, he was kinda... not there. Actually, he's nowhere to be found."  
  
Anya's mouth dropped; as did Willow's, Tara's and Dawn's.  
  
"I'm sorry, Anya, but I'm sure he'll appear soon!" comforted the blonde Slayer.  
  
"He - he could be at a bachelor party! Xander wouldn't have run for the hills! He'd never, ever do such a horrible thing to you, I'm really sure," offered Willow.  
  
Anya turned once again to Buffy, who nodded promptly. "I'm also sure. Very deeply, strongly, and completely sure," she said, with her best attempt to put a comforting smile on her lips.  
  
"Oh," squeaked Anya. "I'm more calm now."  
  
Buffy, Tara, Willow and Dawn sighed in relief - at least she wasn't totally freaking out.  
  
"So. Uh, maybe my fiancé's forgotten about the wedding day, and is having fun with a stripper right now. I'm so calm that I can actually think of the most painful way to horribly torture him," the former demon offered nervously.  
  
OK - maybe she wasn't exactly calm. Maybe she, in fact, is totally freaking out, concluded the four other girls in the room together.  
  
"Oh man, I'd so much more prefer to deal with the evil bunny army," whispered Anya in frustration.  
  
Dawn was about to spill a 'what?' to that last statement, but Buffy promptly covered her sister's mouth with her hand.  
  
The former demoness moved hopelessly through the room, and sat on a nearby chair.  
  
"Anya, I'm sure he'll appear soon," Tara said softly, rubbing her hands with Anya's in a comforting gesture.  
  
She looked up at the witch with puppy-dog eyes. "Do you really think so?"  
  
The blonde Wicca exchanged a nervous glance with her girlfriend. Willow just nodded uncertainly.  
  
"Yeah. W-we all do," completed Tara.  
  
Dawn and Tara helped the bride to get up off the chair. At the same moment, a slightly pale Rupert Giles abruptly entered the room.  
  
"G-giles?" Buffy questioned weakly.  
  
"It's Wesley on the phone," the Englishman stated simply.  
  
***  
  
A hero.  
  
He had to be a hero.  
  
He had to be a frickin' hero.  
  
Damn it, he'd never asked for that! Not at this price.  
  
But the universe seemed to have an odd sense of humor when it came down to his life, anyway.  
  
So, here he was. Fighting against a friend's one true love, another friend's best friend, the man who everybody considered to be the hero.  
  
Well, vampire. Whatever.  
  
The irony was still there. He had to kill the hero, and be the hero. Even if he didn't have a hero's strength, but the hero actually had the hero's strength.  
  
And he didn't even want to kill Deadboy! Well, not like this. And also, no one would really see him as the hero because of his actions, more like the villain.  
  
Or an utterly crazy lunatic.  
  
He could try to explain later, but he was pretty sure no-one would be exactly open to that. After all, he'd have killed their hero. Unless their hero killed him first. And then, everything would be lost.  
  
Oooh... this was so confusing.  
  
But he had to do it.  
  
Just great. These words seemed too much like his new freaking mantra for his own liking.  
  
Xander pointed the spare crossbow at Angel's chest, and pulled the trigger. The ensouled vampire tried futilely to escape, but it was too late. He growled in pain, and fell harshly to the floor with a piece of wood in his chest.  
  
Funny, I thought that vampires dusted when someone kills 'em, Xander wondered with a confused shake of head.  
  
Angel growled once again, this time trying to get up by supporting himself on the nearby bed.  
  
OK, Einstein, he's not dead. Not in the vampire way to be dead, anyway, the dark-haired boy nervously concluded.  
  
Xander ran to where Angel had fallen and kicked him viciously in the head, trying to vainly adjust his weapon along the way.  
  
Damn trembling hands! They weren't helping him at all.  
  
But Angel was able to recover, and he knocked the dark-haired boy to the floor with him. The crossbow was lost as Xander tried to punch him in the stomach, but the vampire's reflexes were faster and Angel managed to escape the blow, rolling along the carpet.  
  
The boy was momentarily distracted by the first really successful reaction on Angel's part to his offensive this night, and he tried to grab the crossbow tossed away by the souled vampire, but it was too far away for his hands to reach.  
  
With that short amount of free time, Angel was able to pull out the bolt shot into his chest just a few millimeters away from his heart, with a brief scream of pain. He was lucky that the shots had missed his heart not once, but twice tonight.  
  
Well, maybe luck wasn't exactly the key word for it, this night.  
  
From the corner of his eye, the former Scourge of Europe saw Xander's futile attempts to once again obtain his weapon. But he was closer, and managed to grab the crossbow with his own two hands and pointed it at Xander's chest.  
  
The human and the vampire locked eyes, for an instant.  
  
The only sound heard in the room was Xander's panting breath.  
  
Angel, now with his game face on, briefly analyzed the young man's being, and threw the crossbow a secure distance away in the room.  
  
Then, he violently grabbed Xander's jacket and smashed the young man against the wall over and over again, only stopping and winning back self- control upon hearing the dark-haired boy's weak gasps for breath.  
  
The room was a complete mess; its furniture was either partially trashed or out of place, easily indicating the fight that had occurred just a few brief moments ago.  
  
Still pushing Xander against the wall, the ensouled vampire, his usually calm features returned to his once-again human face, questioned him: "What the hell's happening here, Xander? Will you or will you not explain it to me?"  
  
"I'm sorry. But you gotta die."  
  
The dark-haired young man stared at the vamp with his haunted but determined eyes and raised his free arm, clenching his fist tightly, above Angel's back.  
  
A savage blow later, successfully pushing Angel away, Xander was able to run to his bag and take a sharp stake from it.  
  
"Damn it," cursed the ensouled vampire impatiently.  
  
Angel didn't really want to take drastic measures to stop whatever craziness had overtaken the boy, at this moment.  
  
So with a well-administered kick on his part, the weapon was quickly blasted away from the young man's hand.  
  
They engaged in a brief look at each other's hazy and confused eyes, and Xander then took out another stake from his jacket and sped furiously in the vampire's direction.  
  
And then a loud noise of heavy steps and desperate screams were caught by Angel and Xander, which was followed by the entrance of the shocked Fang Gang into the room.  
  
No one knew exactly what to do; they just kept staring blankly at each other, the six of them, for a few brief instants.  
  
Finally, Xander abruptly threw himself towards the closer window, provoking an utter crash of broken glass. He put his arms in front of his body, protecting himself from the fall and sharp objects, and then started to run along the streets of L.A., quickly disappearing into the darkness.  
  
Wesley and Gunn promptly started down the Hyperion's stairs, trying futilely to reach the dark-haired young man.  
  
Angel stayed motionless for a brief second, then turned to a scared Cordelia at his side.  
  
"Something's really wrong here," he said simply.  
  
Cordelia raised an incredulous eyebrow. "Well, ya think?"  
  
An odd silence occurred for a short moment.  
  
"He looked normal when we left! As normal as Xander Harris could be, I mean. I just don't get it," the young seer whispered, still drowned in utter confusion.  
  
"What?! Are you telling me that you guys actually left him here to kill me?" demanded an incredulous Angel.  
  
The brunette girl gasped. Oh, boy. I've got such a damned big mouth!   
  
"'Leave' kinda isn't the appropriate word," she began apologetically. "I mean sheesh, how were we supposed to know that he was gonna try to stake you? I mean, no one coulda ever imagined that Xander would actually be that dumb, and we really didn't-"  
  
With the abrupt strength that had overtaken her being so many times before, Cordelia Chase's world went black and was filled with almost unbearable pain of confusing images and sounds.  
  
She woke up a few seconds later, supported in Angel's careful arms.  
  
"Are you OK?" he asked gently, laying her body down in his bed.  
  
"Yeah, I guess," she looked up at him for a moment. "You need to go, Angel. A few blocks away, corner of Madison and Whelon Boulevard, an old woman and three big ugly 'X-files'-wannabe demons."  
  
He chuckled weakly. "Are you gonna be alright?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Now go," the young seer replied softly.  
  
Putting aside the odd events of the night with Cordelia's new vision, Angel ran furiously down the stairs, bumping into Wesley and Gunn on the way.  
  
"We couldn't reach him, the man just vanished throu-"  
  
Angel promptly interrupted Gunn. "We gotta go, Cordelia had a vision. It's only a few blocks away from here and I'm gonna need your help, it's three green demons according to Cordelia's 411."  
  
"Should be easy to locate 'em," Gunn replied mockingly.  
  
"Cordelia didn't ask to come too?" questioned an amazed Wesley.  
  
"Yeah, I also found that weird, but she's had three visions in the same night; Cordelia must be really tired right now," retorted the ensouled vampire. "Too tired for her usual stubbornness."  
  
Wesley chuckled and sent a meaningful glance at Angel, and the three of them grabbed weapons and departed into the night, to fight the good fight against the tireless creatures of evil.  
  
At the top of the stairs, Cordelia glanced at the three men while they ran to the supposed new danger's location.  
  
Fred was somewhere in the bowels of the hotel, out of mind and out of sight for the young brunette. She sighed in relief for that, and started down the stairs.  
  
"Oh man, I hate it when I've gotta lie to them," Cordelia whispered sadly.  
  
***  
  
Hey, folks! It's me, once again. Thanks for the reviews! I swear that in the next chapter the whole [well, most of it] big secret will be open. Review me again, right? I've a great problem of addiction for them! 


	6. Of Past Regret And Future Fear

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
"We must have been too late," Wesley sighed sorrowfully.  
  
"Damn it!" yelled a frustrated Gunn, violently throwing his sharp axe down onto the sidewalk.  
  
Angel simply examined the supposed crime scene silently, walking back and forth around the area with fast and sure steps. "I don't think any kind of fight really happened here," the ensouled vampire then stated pointedly.  
  
The former Watcher and the young demon hunter exchanged brief stares of confusion.  
  
"Why'd ya think that?" Gunn demanded immediately.  
  
Angel simply pointed to the other side of the street, where a considerable number of people were either just passing by or walking into some coffeehouse.  
  
"Too many people. Three green demons, but no scared faces, general hysteria or police presence," Wesley suddenly realized.  
  
"Would be a wise thing to hide our weapons, I think," Angel said dryly.  
  
"So what are ya saying? That Cordy made a mistake?" Gunn questioned Angel carefully.  
  
The ensouled vampire did a dramatic turn, and gazed intensely at the former Watcher and the young vampire hunter.  
  
"We'll have to find out," he answered simply.  
  
And with that, the centuries-old vampire cursed with a soul departed into the darkness of Los Angeles, followed by two completely confused men and a question to be answered by one Cordelia Chase - when they arrived back at the Hyperion.  
  
***  
  
Cordelia walked through the dusty doorway very carefully, trying futilely to avoid touching the graffiti-covered walls and trashed furniture of that utterly disgusting hotel room.  
  
"God! Hasn't anyone here ever heard of the phrase 'sanitary conditions'? I mean yeesh, what if I'd been an asthmatic? Oh, great, now I think I'm gonna be sick," the young seer snorted in a low voice.  
  
The brunette young woman advanced a few steps more into the dirty room watchfully, when an unexpected noise immediately caught her attention.  
  
"Oh, crap!" sighed Cordelia. "Xander? Is that you?" the young woman then asked out loud, as a sudden fear quickly possessed her mind.  
  
No answer was forthcoming.  
  
"C'mon, Xan, don't you start trying to pull this sorta malarkey on me! I'm all alone here!" she called out, gazing intensely throughout the hotel room, but with all due caution.  
  
The young woman then started moving around and explored the place fearfully, but suddenly bumped her back against another familiar back.  
  
And then of course, she screamed loud enough to wake up half of L.A.  
  
At the same time, Cordelia heard another equally loud scream. "Xander! You scared the hell out of me!" she cursed, fighting to recover her breath.  
  
"Well, so did you! Of me!" the dark-haired boy yelled back at her.  
  
The former odd couple of Sunnydale locked eyes for a long moment, and no words were spoken. Cordelia was the first to look away, her eyes traveling uncertainly around Xander's figure.  
  
And then, she saw the gun in his hand.  
  
The brunette seer gazed at his eyes questioningly; but this time, the fear yielded space for a shocked expression to occupy her features.  
  
"Just what do you think you're doing, Xander?" Cordelia finally demanded.  
  
"How'd you find me, Cordelia?" the young man replied dryly.  
  
"Xander," the brunette girl began tentatively. "I know that something very wrong's happening to you, I saw it..."  
  
The man gazed at her with a confused glance.  
  
"Vision thing," she pointed out impatiently. "Now, neither Angel nor anybody else knows that I'm here, okay? I wanna help you; I want to understand you, Xander. I'm sure we all want that," the young seer offered gingerly.  
  
Xander stared suspiciously at Cordelia's figure; it was as if he was cautiously analyzing the offer. Then he stepped back, and pointed the 9mm revolver at her chest.  
  
"I don't know if I can trust you," the young man replied, not diverting his eyes from hers for one moment.  
  
Suddenly, all of Cordelia Chase's fear was quickly substituted by a great anger and she finally exploded at her former boyfriend, her voice easily indicating her incredulous thoughts.  
  
"If *you* can trust *me*? You're unbelievable, Xander Harris! Think! You're the reason I ever gave up my May Queen status in high school! You're the reason I ever got involved in fighting against evil! You were my boyfriend once, for God's sake! And you're the one who's gotten all crazy and tried to kill Angel tonight, remember?"  
  
Cordelia snorted. "Now, I've just lied to my only friends and come over to this cheap, majorly disgusting hotel - and like, why? I'll tell you - to offer my help, 'cause I know that something really serious is happening with your lame ass! And - could I please remind you who's the one pointing the goddamn gun here? But noooo, you don't know if *you* can't trust *me*!"  
  
Xander Harris stared at his former girlfriend with wide eyes, and a shocked expression. But then he quickly put on his patented poker face.  
  
"You wouldn't understand," the dark-haired young man pointed out sadly. "And... I really don't want to drag you into the middle of this," he completed softly.  
  
Cordelia's anger broke, as soon as the brunette seer stared at Xander's haunted look. The young woman felt a sudden sadness savagely invade her whole soul, and gazed once again at the darkness that had become her once- so-radiant former boyfriend's eyes.  
  
"It's a bit too late for that," the brunette girl retorted softly.  
  
Xander raised his head, to see Cordelia's gentle glance spearing him dead center. He then threw his revolver into her hands, which provoked a sudden start of fear on the girl's behalf.  
  
"It's empty. No bullets," the dark-haired boy commented simply.  
  
She raised an incredulous eyebrow, but quickly dropped the subject. "I faked it about a vision to the guys, Xander. I told them some lame story about an old woman in trouble, so I could meet you here. Look, I know you didn't have an evil identity crisis, 'cause like the Powers That Be don't send visions to help out the baddies here..."  
  
Cordy sighed, as Xander looked away. "I was hoping that you could trust me, at least. Uh, if I brought Angel here, it wouldn't exactly be the smartest move, now, would it?"  
  
Xander chuckled weakly.  
  
The young seer continued, "Hey, I'm serious. What's up, Xan? What was all that about? Why would you try to kill Angel? I need to know if you want me to help you," Cordelia said forcefully.  
  
Xander Harris slowly turned his head, and gazed intensely at Cordelia Chase.  
  
"Would you be able to kill Angel? I mean, with his soul intact and all. Even if you don't think it's fair to him? Or you? Or everyone you had ever loved in your entire life?" the dark-haired young man challenged the brunette seer, with burning eyes of sadness and sorrow.  
  
Cordelia stepped back, and did her best attempt at a determined face. "Of course I wouldn't! Why would I ever do such a thing? Why do you think *you* need to do such a thing? Look, enough's enough - what's the sitch here?" she replied violently.  
  
"Once upon a time, there was this prophecy," Xander began slowly. "Big cosmic event that's due to take place in, oh, seven days. Prophecy goes something like, 'Woe unto all the people of the world, for a great power of darkness will be released. Let men fear, for the Scourge of Europe will rise once again, spreading fear and destruction in his wake along five continents'."  
  
The man from Sunnydale continued to quote, "His fires will burn, and children will be the kindling. Evil will have no mercy, and the blood of the innocents will stain the scorched earth red.' Which kinda includes you, Cor," he finished, in a speech that seemed to be reluctantly and painfully told by Xander Harris.  
  
"Angelus," she retorted absent-mindedly.  
  
A single tear fell down Cordelia's beautiful face, and her hazel eyes seemed to be engaged in an inner and tormenting fight.  
  
"No," the young brunette then simply stated.  
  
"I'm sorry, Cordy, but-" Xander tried to begin.  
  
"No," she interrupted him dryly. "You're lying."  
  
Xander put his right hand on her left shoulder in a futile attempt to comfort his former girlfriend, but Cordelia Chase brutally pushed him away.  
  
She shook her head in denial, "You don't know what you're talking about, Xander! It can't be true, it can't be!"  
  
Xander gazed sadly at her. "I know, Cor. But you asked for this. And now, you know. I mean, I get that it's kinda hard to believe-"  
  
"Don't call me Cor! And you don't know anything; you're a freaking lunatic, that's what you are!"  
  
She started to pace. "Don't you get it? It's just not fair! To him! Angel's a good man, he doesn't deserve your lies!" the brunette girl exploded in a devastating wave of rage.  
  
The seer was shaking violently and her hands were trembling, her eyes full of unshed tears. Xander then grabbed his former girlfriend's shoulders strongly but at the same time gently, and he looked deeply into her eyes, making sure she did the same.  
  
"I'm sorry, Cordelia, God know how much I'm sorry about this! But it's the truth, and there's nothing you can do to change it," the young man announced softly.  
  
"Well - h-how do you know? I mean, it's worth it to save Angel, we have to save him! He's my friend, Xander! I can't let him just become Angelus, just like that!" she cried in a weak voice.  
  
"We tried, Cordy, I swear to you - but we couldn't find or do anything to stop it! And it cost us so many lives..." Xander's eyes were drowned by a sudden wave of deep grief.  
  
"What the hell are you talking about? It hasn't happened yet, we still have a chance to stop this from ever taking place!" replied a suddenly confused Cordelia.  
  
"No. We don't," Xander began, gazing intensely at her scared hazel eyes. "See, funny thing: I'm from the future, Cor. That's how I know exactly what'll happen, and that the only chance we got is to like dust Angel - before he starts up with the old leather pants routine."  
  
The young man's next words were like the sound of a coffin lid, finally slamming shut. "'Cause even knowin' what's gonna go down, nobody'll be able to do squat to prevent Deadboy drowning this whole freaking planet in blood, when the time comes."  
  
The brunette seer then said the only thing that her confused mind was capable of thinking, through she'd still make a great effort to manage it.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
***  
  
Wazz up, folks? There it's, part of the secret. Like it? Hate it? Let me know! The next chapter will be posted today or tomorow, I swear.  
  
Oh, for those who didn't notice yet, my entire chapter titles are ER chapter titles too. Just an odd tradition between me and my friends, Leo and Renan... long story, never mind.  
  
Well, review me! 


	7. Love Among The Ruins

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
"Guys! You're finally here!" an agitated Fred screamed with excitement.  
  
The brunette Texan was at the Hyperion's front door when the three men came back very preoccupied, and sped directly past her into the interior of the hotel. Fred just stayed where she was, a dumb look of amazement on her face.  
  
"Rude," the Texan girl snorted, as she made her way to the lounge.  
  
"Where's Cordelia?" Fred and Gunn demanded at the exact same moment.  
  
"What do you mean, 'where's Cordelia'? Come on, we need to know!" Gunn and Fred continued to speak at the same time, their words echoing in perfect sync with each other.  
  
"Okay, me first!" Fred suddenly snapped. "I thought Cordy was with you guys! Uh, she i-isn't?" A familiar fear briskly consumed the Texan girl's voice.  
  
"No! Princess told Angel about her vision, but I mean we didn't find any ugly demons around the place!" retorted the vampire hunter, already yelling nervously at this point.  
  
"Hey, hey! No yelling, OK?" Fred screamed back at him.  
  
"All right! So you stop first!" Gunn replied loudly.  
  
Fred began to pace back and forth along the lounge, eventually muttering words like 'I thought she was with you guys!' and 'Oh, what are we going to do now?'  
  
"Where's Cordelia?" Angel demanded at the top of the stairs, with evident worry consuming his features.  
  
"Welcome to the $65,000 question of the night," Gunn retorted tiredly.  
  
"She isn't here?" asked an astonished Wesley.  
  
"No!" Fred snapped loudly, winning three curious gazes from Angel, Wesley and Gunn. "Uh, no?" the Texan girl then offered in a low voice.  
  
The Englishman shook his head in obvious frustration. "Good Lord, what's happening here? First of all, Xander tries to kill Angel; then Cordelia receives a fake vision, and now she's disappeared! We've had many weird nights in the past, I grant you, but this one has got to take the cake!"  
  
"We've gotta find her," the ensouled vampire stated simply, finally joining the gang.  
  
"Uh, do ya really think?" Gunn pointed out sarcastically.  
  
Angel just glared at him.  
  
"Gentlemen, please, let's try to stay calm and think," a tired Wesley begged.  
  
"I wonder what happened to the paranoid 'good Lord' from a few seconds ago," an annoyed Gunn muttered ironically.  
  
"I can hear you, y'know? And for your information, I wasn't being paranoid!" the former Watcher replied loudly.  
  
Wesley then lowered his voice. "All right, perhaps I was a bit now, but I absolutely was not paranoid before!"  
  
Angel promptly interrupted. "Hey, our focus here is Cordelia, and we're not gonna get anywhere acting... paranoid."  
  
Wesley gazed at him with distinct incredulity.  
  
"Any of us," the souled vampire completed quickly, diverting his look from the former Watcher.  
  
"Great, now everybody thinks I'm paranoid," Wesley muttered under his breath.  
  
Angel continued in his usual deadpan tone, "We, we need to know exactly what we're dealing with here. Cordelia's disappeared under... unusual circumstances, with no sign of a fight - I mean, Fred certainly would have heard it if she'd screamed or something. So I guess, we don't know if she really was kidnapped," the ensouled vampire finished carefully.  
  
Gunn immediately raised an incredulous eyebrow at Angel's last statement.  
  
"Oh, right, so Cordy's just gone out for ice cream now? Hey, that sounds fun! Yeah, really damn plausible too - her ex-boyfriend came by and tried to kill ya, and she thought it'd be a wonderful time to git without actually telling nobody where she's gone?"  
  
Gunn then snorted. "Damn, man, you wanna try listening to yourself some time?" the young vampire hunter said with obvious sarcasm in his voice.  
  
"I'm just saying," Angel began, his voice gaining an odd flash of impatience and nervousness. "That if we put two and two together, a fake vision and a sudden disappearance without any actual threat for weeks, we might then find more clues about Cordelia's whereabouts."  
  
The undead creature with a soul then hesitated. "We just shouldn't simply ignore any possible explanations, even if they seem a little... absurd," the dark-haired vampire finished prudently.  
  
"Possible bein' our key word here," Gunn retorted dryly, still taken aback by Angel's non-kidnapping theory.  
  
"But why would Cordelia hide anything about a vision from us? I mean, at least she really had one, right?" Fred asked with an honest search for understanding.  
  
"Yeah, she did. I mean, I was with her at the time, she couldn't have faked it," the souled vampire said without hesitation.  
  
"Cordelia... well, she certainly cared a lot about Xander in the past," Wesley stated matter-of-factly.  
  
Angel simply nodded in agreement.  
  
The former young Watcher persisted, "Given the details of their breakup, she hasn't ever exactly been... forthright about him, but on the other hand she never was a really great liar either. All right, bloody hell, perhaps she *is* able to lie to us on occasion; but, anyway, that isn't her genuine nature. Not about Xander."  
  
Wesley sighed. "She still cares about him; even I could see that."  
  
"So... lemme see if I got this straight," Gunn insisted with a doubtful expression on his broad features.  
  
"They were Tom and Nicole - make that Tom and Jerry - in the old days, they get all worked up 'cause o' the hormones and then *bam*!" the young vampire hunter clapped his hands in a loud noise, making even Angel wince in surprise. "They decide to play Romeo and Juliet now?"  
  
His tone of obvious incredulity wasn't hidden from anybody.  
  
"But, but Romeo's a little out of his mind at the moment," the Texan girl shook her head in frustration.  
  
"Well, at least it's better than if they'd decided to go all Bonnie and Clyde on us," the ensouled vampire uttered one of his few wry phrases that night.  
  
Wesley raised his eyes at Angel's comment, and chuckled. Fred and Gunn just sent him a glance of puzzlement.  
  
"Never mind," the dark-haired vampire sighed.  
  
"What are we going to do now?" burbled out an evidently insecure Fred.  
  
"I'm afraid that, quite honestly, I've got no answer for your question," the former Watcher shrugged in transparent worry.  
  
"If Cordelia's really with Xander, we've got to assume she's in danger," Angel stated.  
  
"Um, I don't know if that's a wise supposition, Angel. I mean, Cordelia's anything but an innocent girl walking around making stupid choices - uh, most of the time, I mean..."  
  
Wesley looked thoughtful. "When Xander was here with us earlier, he didn't seem to want to harm any of us, but he did look a little nervous and his appearance was slightly more pale than normal. Like something was really bothering him. Well, he did seem... scared. But not all bloody psycho."  
  
Angel raised an incredulous eyebrow at Wesley's statement. "He did try to kill me, didn't he?"  
  
"Wait, wait, wait. Supposin' that Cordy actually went to find the asshole - she musta seen something in her vision, right? Something about the guy - somethin' scary enough to make her lie, and try to divert our asses!"  
  
The young vampire hunter was sure that this thought had been an organized and vitally important one inside his mind; but now, once voiced, it just sounded like a bunch of nonsensical words to his ears.  
  
"Uh, did that make any sense at all?" asked a suddenly confused Gunn.  
  
"I know I'm going to regret saying this, but it actually did," retorted an equally bewildered Wesley.  
  
His friends easily found the prompt denial in Angel's voice. "That's crap! Why wouldn't Cordelia trust us?"  
  
"She's scared, Angel," the former Watcher said softly.  
  
"Her first serious boyfriend just pops back into her life, and messes with her mind; and while I'm not willing to trust in Xander, I think she is. And we can't tell for sure that he's not going to harm her; we can't even confirm that he's *with* her, for God's sake! Oh my... this is just getting more and more complicated, isn't it?"  
  
The young Englishman could feel a monstrous headache growing powerfully inside his cranium, and his body really didn't seem to have the necessary strength to stop it right now.  
  
"I'm afraid so," the souled vampire replied emphatically.  
  
The Fang Gang was lost in pure fear for Cordelia's well being, and utter confusion towards Xander's still-unexplained behavior during the previous few hours.  
  
It was too hard to think straight at that moment.  
  
"Angel... you think we should?" Wesley's voice wondered out loud.  
  
"I don't know. Maybe," the dark-haired vamp's reply was uncertain and full of doubt.  
  
"Great, now they're using that odd language that I don't understand," Gunn muttered, biting his lower lip in apparent annoyance.  
  
"Fred, could you try to find if Xander's actually registered in any of the hotels here in Los Angeles? I know it's most likely a shot in the dark, but we aren't exactly overflowing with clues right now."  
  
"Uh, all right Wesley, I can at least give it a shot. Way in the dark, but I think I can try. I guess," the brunette Texan replied with an unsure gaze at the Englishman.  
  
Wesley's eyes seemed to still be wondering about his briefly discussed decision with Angel. "You want me to do it?" the former Watcher asked carefully.  
  
His question was promptly answered, with Angel's conflicted gaze staring at him.  
  
"Right then, I'll do it," the Englishman confirmed, receiving a reassuring glance from the souled vampire.  
  
"Do what?!" Gunn demanded loudly.  
  
"I'm afraid that we'll have to call some old... friends," Wesley replied uncertainly.  
  
"Great!" Fred's voice chimed within the Hyperion's lounge, the Texan girl already with the phone against her ear in search of Xander's possible whereabouts amongst L.A.'s cheaper hotels. "I've always wanted to meet Sunnydale's Scooby gang!"  
  
***  
  
"I saw everything," Xander's haunted eyes misted over, lost in his devastating memories as Cordelia Chase just stared at him.  
  
"I saw it when Mr. Tall, Dark and Overbite killed you. You looked so scared, so... I'd learned that that Fred girl had been his first victim; you told me, about an hour before you died. He'd murdered Wesley in Los Angeles too, but I don't know if he also killed Gunn; everything had become too confused to understand, by that point..."  
  
The man gulped, caught up in the horrible memories. "It was just... chaos. So much death, Cordy, so much pain... Buffy begged me to help her, while she was drowning in her own blood laying in my arms. Ironic much, huh? She begged me to help her, she didn't wanna die," Xander painfully remembered in a low voice.  
  
Cordelia didn't quite get the irony pointed out, but it didn't matter. She wasn't strong enough to question anything at the moment.  
  
"Willow tried to restore his soul, but it didn't work - I don't know why. Giles told us that this power that attacked Angel wasn't like the normal curse on his soul, it was stronger - it was different; and we didn't know how to deal with it..."  
  
He paused. "I had just enough time to pick up Dawn and Anya, and we tried to run away. God knows I wanted to go back for Willow, Giles, and Tara... Jesus, even for Spike..."  
  
"Spike...?"  
  
"Long story. Although I knew, I just knew that the death of the Slayer would be too much for him to handle. He tried to resist; for Dawn, even for us, although he wouldn't ever, ever admit that out loud," the dark-haired boy chuckled sadly.  
  
"But Angelus went after him," he continued with a deep haunted voice, making Cordelia's inner self immediately shiver. "I guess Spike just didn't have any more strength to resist, but you can't blame him for that."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"No one did, by then. And before you ask I don't know, I don't know what happened to the others, I couldn't go back, I knew I'd be putting Anya's and Dawn's lives at risk. And I-I had to protect them; I just couldn't go back! I promised Buffy I'd take care of Dawn! I promised her, I promised..."  
  
Xander was sobbing hopelessly by this point, and the brunette young woman unconsciously embraced him into a tight but gentle hug.  
  
"It's okay, Xander, it's okay now, it's okay..." Cordelia whispered over and over, tears falling freely down her hopeless face.  
  
Xander pulled away from Cordelia's arms, and barely managed to continue. "But Angelus found us, anyway. In the end, it was pointless, the entire running-away thing. After Anya and I were able to find and rescue Dawn from him, she didn't speak a single word. Her clothes were like rags and there was blood all over her face, but it wasn't her own blood..."  
  
The young man looked suddenly thoughtful. "Not all of it, at least. It was just too much blood, she'd have been dead if it was all hers. Anya and me, we never learned what really happened; since that moment till the day I was sent back in time by the Powers That Be, she hadn't spoken a single word."  
  
A sigh. "But we took care of each other, just her and me 'cause... Angelus got Anya. The same day we found Dawn. I know, I *know* the bastard did that just to get to me, that's why he made my Anya one of them and I had to..."  
  
"Xander..." Cordelia didn't know what to say.  
  
It was all just too painful to contemplate.  
  
"I'm okay now, Cordelia. I won another chance. A messenger from the Powers That Be came after me, a week after Anya's death. Guy dressed like a pimp with a really lame hat, and he gave me this chance. And also - I wanted to give this to him. To Angel," Xander clarified, with a lost glance at the stars through the window.  
  
"He's not the demon inside him, Cordy, I know that now. I don't want to let Angelus win; I *really* don't want that, ya know? I want to kill Angel now, so his inner demon will never get that chance; I know that's what I should do."  
  
The time traveller stared at the seer. "It's best for him, and for everybody. Even if it costs me my sanity and my friends. Damn it, even if it costs me my own life!" the dark-haired boy suddenly exploded, roughly smashing his fist against a nearby desk.  
  
The impact of Xander's punch made the fragile wooden boards splinter into little pieces, forming a considerably large hole on the desk's surface. The young man looked down at it, but didn't say anything; he just swept away the few vestiges of loose wood from its dirty surface, and looked away from the smashed desk.  
  
Cordelia just stood there, speechless. She was feeling like her whole world was crashing down all around her, and all her deepest fears were suddenly becoming true.  
  
If there truly was a Hell, a place where tortured souls never found their eternal rest, a shadow world where there was no tomorrow - just continuous suffering and despair, pain and agony, torment and hopelessness - if such a place existed, Cordelia was sure she could just walk right in there with this big, goofy smile on her lips.  
  
Because nothing could ever, ever make her feel worse than the way she was feeling right now.  
  
"I'm scared, Xander. I-I don't know what to do," the young seer managed to whisper slowly.  
  
Xander pulled the young brunette into a comfortable hug, and gently dried her tears. "I know, Cordy. But you don't have to do anything. That's why I'm here, I'll take care of it, okay? I'm gonna be the so-called frickin' White Knight," the young man sighed softly, still embraced by Cordelia's arms firmly surrounding his waist.  
  
She raised her head, previously sunk on Xander's shoulder, and looked up at his sincere eyes.  
  
"When did you become the hero type," Cordelia grinned weakly.  
  
"When I first met this gorgeous brunette, with the most beautiful hazel eyes I'd ever seen," Xander chuckled softly. "What was her name again? Tina? Mary? No, no, I think it was Carla, but I'd really have to get back to you on that," he said wryly, immediately getting a dainty punch on his left arm by Cordelia.  
  
"You didn't change a bit, did you? Still making jokes, in nightmare situations. You aren't real, Harris," the young brunette retorted absent- mindedly, still distracted by the warmth of her former boyfriend's hug.  
  
Damn, but it felt so good to be in his arms once again.  
  
Cordelia could feel the growing pain devouring every single part of her soul, bringing to life her deepest fears and allowing all her inner nightmares to come forth in her brain. The brunette young woman could barely remind herself to breathe; occasional heavy gasps for air came from her body.  
  
She couldn't stand the fact that she was incapable of helping Angel, that there was just no way she could do that.  
  
And Cordelia wanted so deeply to hate Xander, so deeply...  
  
'Cause then, he would simply be lying, and all her worries would be eradicated as easily as they'd come.  
  
Why couldn't he be just a freaking lunatic, after all?  
  
Damn it! It would make everything so much easier.  
  
She hated him for being sane and honest.  
  
She hated him for telling her everything he had told her.  
  
She hated him for having suffered so much, and making her suffer as well.  
  
And most of all, she so hated the fact that she was incapable of hating him.  
  
Suddenly, an unknown impulse made Cordelia Chase put her arms around Xander's neck and bring her lips to his, gently initiating a generous kiss.  
  
What the heck? He just told you about his girlfriend getting killed by one of your best friends - and you're standing here, wanting to have a wild monkey sex with your former boyfriend?! Oh no - did I say that out loud? Oh, right. This is just my inner voice. Uh, duh! And why he does have to be such a damn good kisser? Oh my, I so need to grow up...   
  
If there was one time in her life Cordelia would be sorry for thinking - at all - this was like just the perfect example.  
  
There was no time for any more reasonable thoughts, through.  
  
For one single moment, Cordelia felt like everything else just wasn't important, and the gods above were finally looking down at her with a big, wide smile.  
  
She could even hear them whispering a 'you go, girl!' from the skies.  
  
*** 


	8. Men Play, God Laughs

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
Cordelia's tongue met Xander's in a sweet but devastating explosion of feelings; and everything seemed magically perfect, for that brief instant.  
  
She felt safe. She felt protected. She felt right.  
  
She felt like a princess.  
  
A completely different kind of princess, from her Sunnydale Queen C or Pylean princess persona, naturally.  
  
She finally felt like a blessed princess.  
  
But, nonetheless, those freaking gods seemed to unconditionally believe that she needed to lose everything she'd ever cared about.  
  
They were bad, very bad for a girl's health.  
  
"I'm sorry, Cordy, but I can't," Xander sighed, gently pushing away his body from Cordelia's.  
  
"You love Anya," the brunette girl said simply.  
  
"Yeah, I do," he confirmed frankly. "She's my whole life now, just like you were once. And I'm not gonna be stupid enough to make the same mistake again. You understand that, right? I was a jerk back then. I shouldn't have hurt you like that..."  
  
"A stupid jerk," Cordelia grinned weakly at him, finally releasing herself from their embrace.  
  
It was amazing how easily Xander could just lift someone's spirits, even if that person had suddenly gotten the most terrible news she could have ever received.  
  
Or had just suffered in the worst possible way a girl could, in the presence of an ex-boyfriend. Whatever.   
  
"Well, let's just forget about it, all right? I mean, I was shaken by this prophecy thing and I was obviously desperate," the brunette girl pointed out in an apologetic tone, avoiding the multiple glances from Xander.  
  
"Uh-huh. Prophecy thing, got it," the dark-haired boy replied mockingly.  
  
"Well, screw you, Harris! Hey, you should understand that I know that smartass tone of voice of yours!" the young seer promptly retorted.  
  
And I also know how delicious your tongue tastes, mister! What?! Oh shit, I've got to snap out of this!   
  
Great, there was this giant possibility that Angel would become a big badass vampire once again, and she was getting all hot about a man who was unavailable.  
  
What else could happen for her life to become just fucking perfect now?  
  
And with that last thought, three humanoid demons abruptly entered through the precarious hotel's room door and started to tear the place apart, in an obvious state of fury.  
  
"Damn thoughts! I've gotta stop thinking them!" the brunette seer exclaimed.  
  
Xander glanced at her with utter confusion, but just decided to let it go. "Cordy! Here," the dark-haired young man said, throwing a spiked lance into his former girlfriend's hands.  
  
"What are we living in? The Stone Age?! C'mon, gimme something more modern; a crossbow, a gun of yours, I don't know! Anything, rather than a stupid pre-historical lance!" the brunette girl demanded loudly.  
  
"Trust me, we'll need those 'pre-historical' beauties right now! These demons'll only die with a blow by these weapons to their forehead," the young man promptly replied, being abruptly interrupted by the attack of one of the creatures.  
  
Cordelia let out a scream of sudden fear and Xander rolled along the dusty floor, managing to shove his own lance at the demon's forehead.  
  
Contact.  
  
First demon, down.  
  
"See? Like that! It's the only way these goddamn bastards will end up like we want them, and that's dead!" the young man from Sunnydale pointed out, never diverting his attention from the second creature coming at his back.  
  
"Okay," the young brunette snorted, trying futilely to reach the third demon's forehead. And when Cordelia finally managed to do so, she permitted a half-smile to appear on her lips.  
  
"Got it, dead," the young woman voiced proudly.  
  
The lifeless body of the demon started to decompose into a thin cloud of purple smoke, and soon there were only the orange ashes of its guts scattered on the floor. Cordelia's wandering eyes, looking in the middle of the final vestiges of ash also found a silver medallion, with an unknown symbol etched on its surface.  
  
She carefully lowered her arm and took the medallion - which was utterly dirty with the remaining ashes - into her hands. "Gross," the brunette girl proclaimed, staring at the strange object with growing curiosity. "Oh man, Wesley would so fall in love with this! He loves all these... well, peculiar things."  
  
"Cordelia!" Xander screamed as loud as he could, trying desperately to get Cordelia's attention. He was still engaged in a fight with the second demon, and things weren't exactly coming up roses on his side.  
  
More like a crown of thorns.  
  
The demon had almost managed to grab Xander's lance from his hands in its first offensive, and they were now engaged in mortal combat.  
  
An evil creature with the strength of a Hellspawn against a powerless simple human?  
  
Okay, maybe things were looking *really* bad on his side.  
  
The pretty brunette grabbed her own lance and ran towards the two combatants, who were fighting in the right-hand corner of the hotel room. Cordelia raised her weapon, earlier rejected but now accepted without any qualms, and started to hit the demon's head viciously.  
  
"Get off of him, you... you..."  
  
"Bastard creature of evil?" Xander offered under his continuous gasps for breath.  
  
"Yeah!" the young seer acknowledged thankfully. "Bastard creature of evil!"  
  
Xander managed to administer a strong blow to the demon's upper intestine, and rolled away just in time to avoid a powerful payback blow from the creature's furious fists. Growling immediately in pain on account of his injuries, the boy then dragged himself along the floor in an effort to help Cordy kill the damn thing.  
  
The demon growled, and staggered back at Cordelia's side.  
  
The poor creature never had a chance.  
  
The dark-haired boy threw the metal structure of an old lamp onto its back, and the young seer promptly grabbed her lance and shoved it against the demon's forehead, which automatically let out a growl of utter pain and anguish.  
  
And with the actions from both Xander Harris and Cordelia Chase, soon the demon was transformed in orange ashes scattered all over the cold floor, just like its two compatriots. Among the dirty remains, there was also the same silver medallion with the mysterious symbol on its surface.  
  
"Well, amongst all stuff, I sorta didn't really miss *this* Hellmouth's genuine kind of... thing," the dark-haired boy pointed out with transparent sarcasm; his painting breath just now seeming to recover its usual regularity.  
  
"That's so what I didn't need right now," an annoyed Cordelia complained.  
  
"Actually..." Xander started.  
  
"Oh, I hate your actually's," the brunette girl snorted tiredly.  
  
Beyond every previous event of this very strange night, this new feeling was hitting her somehow stronger than anything else.  
  
It was as if she was there, but she wasn't. As if somehow, she didn't care, but did care about the arrival of these new nasty surprises. After all, this is all pointless - nothing's gonna change the future, right?   
  
Cordelia was getting frustrated.  
  
"Actually," Xander continued, promptly ignoring her complaints, "They were following me. Even the Powers That Be can't stop the forces of evil that easy, and I fought two of those... things... when I first came back, about five hours or so. That's how I've got hurt before."  
  
He stared at the seer. "I was told they'd come, I just didn't know it was gonna be multiple fights, ya know? I thought I'd dealt with the opposition, but I guess I was wrong..."  
  
Xander snorted. "Phht... course I was, huh? It's a big deal what I'm supposed to stop, and I'm thinking the most powerful baddies would send just a couple of morons to stop me? I mean, how stupid can I be? Wait - don't answer that," his babbling mode seemed to be going at full-speed, and Cordelia didn't know if she would cry for remembering Angel's unchangeable future or just laugh at Xander's incoherent order of words.  
  
"I'm sorry for making you go through all of this," the dark-haired young man then shrugged in visible shame.  
  
"It's not your fault," she muttered softly.  
  
"Maybe it isn't, maybe it is. I could have just kept you out of it," Xander persisted in torturing himself with guilt.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey! I was born on the Hellmouth too, remember? I'm a pretty tough girl; danger is like part of my life now. Okay, I hate it - but it's part of me, it's part of my routine, it's part of who I am, OK?"  
  
"Also," Cordelia grinned. "I'd have made you tell me, anyway."  
  
Xander chuckled, and took the pretty brunette into a goofy hug again. "Ah, Cordy, did I ever tell you how much of a jerk I was, to ever screw the 'us' topic back then?" the young man burbled out, in an honest gesture of friendship.  
  
"Stupid jerk," the young seer remarked promptly, in a mocking tone.  
  
It felt so good to be surrounded by his arms.  
  
Even if not in the way she truly desired to be, it still felt good to be hugged like that.  
  
How did I ever let him get away? Cordelia sighed nostalgically to herself, forgetting for a moment past feelings of betrayal and pain.  
  
There was definitely no space for remembering past mistakes right now; just that sweet, comfortable and righteous sensation that she felt embraced by her former love's warm arms.  
  
They never saw the fourth demon, coming in furiously and at full speed in their direction, from the dark shadows of the room.  
  
It seemed like things could actually get worse tonight.  
  
Cordelia Chase couldn't challenge the irreproachable power of true evil.  
  
To do so was to fight a lost battle.  
  
Because, while men play, God laughs.  
  
And the Devil's waiting patiently, for his turn at the roulette table.  
  
And, to Cordelia, the number that came up was a sharp piece of rusted metal lance shoved against her back and making its nasty and painful way into her body, to finally explode out through her bloody abdomen.  
  
The frightened hazel eyes of the pretty brunette, the young girl with a face and form of a natural-born princess, cried fearful tears.  
  
The gods above had abandoned her in every way they could.  
  
And she hated them for it.  
  
"Don't you die on me, Cordy, don't do this, don't you dare..."  
  
*** 


	9. Rescue Me

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
Dr. Michael Penn carelessly bumped against one of the gurneys in the ER of St. Matthew's Hospital, on his way out of the area. His shift had already ended almost half an hour previously, but he'd gotten stuck with stitching up a middle-aged Elvis impersonator, who'd been hurt at a fan's convention by another fake Elvis' guitar.  
  
Not to mention the fact he'd also suffered through a boring story of a cat- fight for first prize in a swim-suit contest, a piece of gossip that Michael hadn't really paid any particular attention to.  
  
Boring was definitely the key word for what had happened at work that day.  
  
The sandy-haired young doctor hadn't had any really interesting cases, though there had been this little girl with a low-grade, easily treatable fever and some distinct flu-like symptoms, who'd vomited all over his high- priced clothes.  
  
It wasn't that he didn't like children. He did. A lot.  
  
Michael Penn even wished he had a healthy little boy to play football with, or baseball; perhaps along with a little princess to spoil with toy castles, and the most beautiful Barbie dolls money could buy.  
  
Yes, Dr. Penn pretty much loved children.  
  
He just didn't like having to clean their regurgitated breakfast off of his brand-new Armani suit.  
  
But apart from that little incident, Michael had gotten only genuine hospital cases and handled them all just fine.  
  
A few fractures, light concussions, a broken ankle and that fat and annoying Elvis.  
  
No auto accident victims, drive-by shootings or even ordinary blood-drained corpses with the strange twin marks on their necks or wrists.  
  
Go figure today's odd trademarks from L.A.'s screw-up gangs...   
  
Entering an examining room, the young doctor shoved a short lock of sandy hair behind his ears, engaging in a brief yawn during the process. He quickly lifted his left hand up and covered his mouth, just for appearance's sake; but a moment later a half-smile appeared on his lips, as he'd noticed the pointlessness of doing that, there being no one in the examining room but him.  
  
Sitting on the couch, Michael tried to review some of the patients' files for that day, but his tired eyes weren't exactly collaborating with him at the moment.  
  
The naughty bastards just wouldn't stay wide open, so that he'd be able to finish the job.  
  
The doctor then murmured a "Whatever," quitting his half-hearted fight against his brain's urges to lean his head onto the couch's pillow, and engage in a much-needed hour of sleep.  
  
It was a fight really not worth trying to win.  
  
Before Michael Penn could notice, his body was engaged in full-sleep mode with his head resting against one of his forearms.  
  
Tic, tac, tic, tac, tic, tac.  
  
"Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!"  
  
Damn beeper! the lanky sandy-haired man thought, while a sudden wave of annoyance passed freely through his dozy mind. Can't I get one freaking minute of sleep without the damn thing going off? My shift was over a century ago, for God's sake!   
  
A twenty-something nurse, who had the longest curly blonde hair Michael had ever seen plus a set of glasses hiding her naturally wide ocean-green eyes under its thick lenses, opened the door with an unusual strength for her apparently petite body.  
  
The blue-eyed doctor cursed under his breath, though he was quickly up off of the hospital couch and rubbing his sleepy eyes, trying to wake up properly.  
  
"We've got an emergency, we need you in the ER!" the slim woman practically yelled, immediately leaving the examining room with heavy and fast steps, never turning back to confirm that Michael was actually following her.  
  
"Oh, like that's news," the young doctor shrugged in obvious sarcasm.  
  
Michael sighed, and groggily directed himself to the emergency room. If he was lucky, perhaps he'd get something more interesting than a disgusting fat man with a sparkling 50's style suit.  
  
But then the almost hysterical voice of another nurse finally woke Michael Penn up to complete awareness, and brought the sandy-haired young man out of his drowsy state.  
  
"BP's 140 over 90, she's lost at least two pints of blood, pupils are reactive but we still can't control the damn convulsions! Abdomen perforated possibly with a rusted object, we can't tell yet if her kidney was affected, but the inner bleeding's still going full-force!"  
  
Someone in the background lamented about today's violence, and how sad it was that such a beautiful girl had been dragged into such a terrible situation. The blonde nurse with curly hair literally threw the patient's chart into his hands, quickly turning back and plunging a needle into the girl's left forearm.  
  
"Here we go again," Michael sighed, his face sorrowfully turning into a shadow of its normal self; with an expression that was half-sadness, half- tiredness.  
  
***  
  
[ A few minutes earlier ]  
  
Xander violently burst in through the ER's main door, with an unconscious Cordelia lying still in his arms.  
  
The brunette's bloody abdomen was, if such a thing was possible, bleeding even harder, but her features looked somehow peaceful. Like she had already accepted her impending fate.  
  
And Xander Harris hated that.  
  
Cordelia had to be strong - strong, damn it; she had to make it. She can't just... she wouldn't...   
  
Xander promptly swallowed his own words, before they could actually form any rational or influential thought in his mind; one that might finally destroy his nearly-shredded sanity, after the turbulent events of the nightmarish past few weeks.  
  
The dark-haired young man shivered, just as this inadmissible idea passed vaguely through his utterly torn mind.  
  
Cordelia Chase couldn't die.  
  
She wouldn't.  
  
He couldn't let that happen.  
  
He wouldn't. No way in Hell...   
  
"I need a doctor!" Xander's loud and rough cry for help quickly got everyone's attention, in the ER of St. Matthew's Hospital.  
  
"She's been hurt, you gotta help her, she can't die!" the dark-haired boy's pleading voice made every patient, visitor or nurse's heart jump right into their mouths - just after it was broken into tiny, fragile little pieces.  
  
A thin woman with long curly hair and heavy glasses practically jumped through the air over a stretcher in her way, and came to the young couple's side. Soon, other people who were also dressed as nurses took the brunette girl out of Xander's doubtful arms, and lifted her now-convulsing body carefully onto a nearby gurney.  
  
The dark-haired young man's eyes were filled with a growing fear and he instinctively ran to the young woman's side, leaving just enough space for the hospital's nurses to work on his former girlfriend's gravely injured physique.  
  
"Hang on, Cordy, please... oh God, don't you dare give up on me, c'mon, you gotta keep it together here," Xander's voice was pure misery, and his eyes were lost in an inner battle against feelings of guilt and concern.  
  
A harsh hand fell onto his shoulder, but the prudent words mouthed by its owner were soft and sympathetic.  
  
Although they didn't make him feel any better at all.  
  
"Sir, you can't stay here," the female voice announced considerately.  
  
In spite of the naturally chaotic ambience of the ER that's found in any genuine hospital anywhere in the world - cries of despair, laughs of joy, shrugs of sharp pain, sighs of relief and all other contradictory reactions that normally take place somewhere you could receive either the worst or best news of your life - despite all of that, an uncomfortable silence seemed to form around Xander, who ignored the jumbled sounds of background noise.  
  
"Sir," the blonde nurse insisted. "Sir, I can't let you stay here."  
  
"You've gotta help her," Xander retorted simply, his eyes never moving away from the brunette girl still bleeding profusely on the gurney.  
  
"We will, we'll help her, just tell me what happened with as many details you can remember and let us do our job, okay?" the careful female voice softly explained.  
  
Xander watched helplessly as the crew worked intensely on Cordelia, and nodded absent-mindedly.  
  
Because inside Xander's head, it was mostly chaos.  
  
He could barely remember killing the fourth demon in the hotel and taking a bleeding Cordelia carefully into his arms; his former girlfriend had then been brought to the nearest hospital by a car that Xander had stopped in the traffic. One he'd stopped by throwing his own body into the streets, and waiting for the first automobile to pass and help them.  
  
Actually, Xander could barely remember anything right now. His memories of the previous hellish hours in Los Angeles were very confused and jumbled.  
  
The cascade of incoherent thoughts easily reflected his torn state of mind, as he absent-mindedly nodded or shook his head to the nurse's multiple questions about the injured brunette girl.  
  
Allergies. Blood type. UTI's previous visits. Any particular patient health problems.  
  
Uh - yeah. I think. Maybe. AB-. I don't know.  
  
Whatever. Just fix her.  
  
"Is there any specific someone in Los Angeles to notify about your friend's situation? A person to call in case of emergency?"  
  
God. I can't stand this anymore...   
  
"Uh - I, I don't know. I don't think so, she - she doesn't know anyone in town," the dark-haired young man lied, with panicked features that none of his friends would have missed if they'd been at his side at that moment.  
  
And it seemed that the blonde nurse hadn't exactly bought his story either.  
  
"Are you sure?" she questioned him, a surprisingly rougher voice leaving her delicate body in a demanding tone.  
  
To Xander's relief, a male nurse interrupted their conversation to give some information to the curly-haired nurse, who had introduced herself as Kelly Marshall. He left, and the slim woman turned her attention once again at Xander.  
  
"Well, Mr..." Kelly's young features seemed slightly lost for a moment, and her thin eyebrows twisted in sudden doubt.  
  
"Harris, Xander Harris," the time-traveller from the future promptly replied, regretting for a second that he had given his real name instead of a fake one.  
  
As everything from the past can later be used against you, another lesson that the Hellmouth had obligated him to learn at the highest possible price.  
  
Kelly's lips smiled a strangely saccharine smile, while her legs crossed into a more reserved position.  
  
"Mr. Harris," the softness found in the nurse's voice made Xander a little more comfortable. "It seems that this isn't Ms. Chase's first visit to this hospital..."  
  
She continued, "We've retrieved her file, and we'll try to contact her family. We'll also need you to be strong for her, OK? Do you think you can help us - and her?"  
  
Xander diverted his eyes back to the gurney, where various members of the hospital's staff were still working on the seer's body.  
  
"Is she going to make it?" the dark-haired young man managed to mumble somehow calmly, still focusing his fearful gaze on Cordelia's closed eyes.  
  
"I don't know," Kelly replied honestly, finding it strangely difficult to lie or hide anything from that young man.  
  
"Kelly! Kelly, we need you over here stat!" the same male nurse who had interrupted them earlier abruptly called for the young nurse, trying to hold the young seer's strongly convulsing body.  
  
The nurse approached the gurney at a blinding run.  
  
"Jesus, where's Dr. Penn? I thought you'd already paged him!" Kelly demanded.  
  
"We did, we beeped him!" a voice answered loudly.  
  
"I'll go find him," the nurse with long curly hair said, exchanging a brief glance with an obviously confused Xander before leaving the ER.  
  
The dark-haired boy simply stood there, a disbelieving and scared look etched onto his features.  
  
"Don't do this to me, Cordy," he pleaded with her, seeing a sandy-haired young man entering the ER and then quickly taking Cordelia's gurney away to the inner confines of the hospital.  
  
A sudden memory of Sunnydale General's hospital morgue passed through Xander's mind.  
  
God, I didn't think I could actually hate hospitals more than I already did...   
  
This was all his fault.  
  
Right, like that's not month-old news...   
  
It was his fault.  
  
She was suffering because of him.  
  
It's all your fault for getting her involved, buddy boy...   
  
And Xander hated that.  
  
He hated having to see Cordelia in pain.  
  
He hated having to be on this stupid mission.  
  
But he was going to complete it.  
  
For her.  
  
For the world.  
  
Well, it couldn't get any worse, right?   
  
Obviously not... or so Xander Harris thought.  
  
Destiny can be glimpsed through many shadowy masks, wearing many different disguises, and the eternal battle between good and evil was once again being fought with him as one important focus.  
  
Xander had known and feared that his chances were rapidly running out.  
  
But he could never have been prepared for what would come next.  
  
***  
  
"Crap," the beautiful brunette cursed, finding herself trapped in one of the many alleys of Los Angeles.  
  
The large animal advanced slowly along the back street, and barked furiously. The young woman locked her dark eyes with the dog's ones, silently simulating a bark as well.  
  
"Hey, puppy," she tentatively risked saying.  
  
The infuriated barks got even louder and the dog clenched his teeth, growling viciously.  
  
"OK, maybe you don't like to be called puppy," the attractive young woman reconsidered.  
  
Approaching voices could be heard in the distance, and flashes of yellow light periodically swept a particular stretch of wall in the alley.  
  
"Great, the cops are coming," the brunette sighed sarcastically.  
  
"Look, Rex," she began. "I pretty much figure that, if I can handle a couple of nasty vampires blindfolded, or - or ugly demons with three heads trying to eat my goddamn brain for dinner, a simple dog won't be my greatest challenge. You can bet your ass on that."  
  
The dog's growl lowered in volume, and the dark-haired animal stepped back.  
  
"Ass, tail, whatever," she remarked.  
  
The gorgeous brunette fearlessly came a few steps closer, and gazed intensely at the animal. "Now, be a good boy and let Aunt Faith save the world, OK?"  
  
The dog stared at the girl silently and then whined harmlessly, raising his right paw up and rolling along the dirty pavement in a friendly way.  
  
"Yeah, good boy," Faith said, pleased and running from the alley, avoiding the cops only by a matter of seconds.  
  
The brunette Slayer stopped at some point, and permitted her body to lean against an occasional wall and her heart rate to recover its usual speed.  
  
But the noise of sirens echoed loudly, and Faith found herself with the need to run once again to finish her prison escape safely - for now, at least.  
  
Faith managed to find an abandoned building and a hiding place, in an old apartment closet. The first police officers on the scene tried to locate her; but all of them were unsuccessful in finding the escaped prisoner.  
  
And, after a few hours of searching, they finally left the building - convinced that the young woman had once again managed to elude them, and was on the move.  
  
Boy, I've definitely gotten rusty, the Slayer thought matter-of-factly.  
  
Faith wandered for a few minutes throughout her hiding place to confirm that it was clear of cops, and then she found another closet - probably a teenager's one - with many clothes in its drawers.  
  
The escapee picked out a set of black jeans and a white low-necklined top from its contents, and combined them with a pair of leather boots and jacket, pulling her long dark hair into a severe ponytail.  
  
The beautiful brunette was then about to leave the abandoned apartment, when something suddenly caught her attention.  
  
Apart from an unimportant missing fraction on the right hand corner, her image was being perfectly reflected from the dusty surface of an old but amazingly large mirror hanging on one of the walls.  
  
The brunette Slayer came a few steps closer and rubbed her hand against the mirror, clearing away the dust at the height of her face. The young woman then maniacally grabbed a piece of something that had once been an expensive cashmere suit and continued to clean the mirror, till her reflection could be clearly seen on the polished surface.  
  
Her inner feelings and thoughts were completely silenced for a second - in a mix of wonder, expectation and fear.  
  
"I can be good again," the Slayer's voice was devoid of any trace of her former bitchy attitude, permitting a hopeful, almost intangible smile to illuminate her beautiful features.  
  
Not for the first time, Faith wondered if she could ever be what she'd always wanted to be: happy.  
  
Simply speaking, just happy.  
  
Her first real attempt at the search for that unknown happiness had come with finally turning herself in. Going to jail and promising herself - as well as Angel, Buffy and the courts, all of them - to search and fill, or at least die trying to, that eternal hole in her soul.  
  
Faith currently felt like she just didn't belong to this world, but now she had finally won her second chance - a second chance to prove that she can and will do the right thing, no matter what the price.  
  
I'll have to be strong this time, she thought firmly. Strong like Buffy.   
  
Strong like the way the world needed her to be.  
  
Strong like she hoped she could truly be one day.  
  
"Hold on, Xand-man, I'm almost with you," Faith whispered.  
  
*** 


	10. One More For The Road

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work â€" I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me â€" please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
Neil Diamond, or so the name that the homeless middle-aged beggar had chosen for himself happened to be, stopped in front of the soiled basement door and then went in.  
  
An aged wooden table, a trashed piece of something that had once been a magnificent red velvet couch, an old phonograph and multiple dusty disco albums lying scattered along the dirty surface of the cold floor, formed the chaotic but somehow nostalgic ambience of the place.  
  
The fake Neil Diamond scratched his gray and smelly beard, and smiled openly. He loved it when he was alone with his beloved rats, and Donna Summer's unbeatable voice.  
  
The street bum picked up the diva queen album from the floor, and strongly rubbed his hand against the cover's surface, intending to remove the dust from the music star's image.  
  
"Ha! Glorious, darling, you're absolutely fabulous!" the fake Neil chimed in, making a genuine disco hip-shaking move. All the while crossing the dark basement, reaching a corner and putting a giant red hat on top of his partially bald head.  
  
Soon Donna Summer's loud voice filled the up-until-then silent room, and Lance Randolph â€" a.k.a. 'Neil Diamond' â€" started to dance shamelessly, throwing his arms up and down and shaking his elderly body to the rhythm of the music.  
  
However, the basement's supposed emptiness was no more when a heavy, wrinkled hand smashed down onto the phonograph, cutting off Donna's voice.  
  
"Hey, whoa! What the hell â€" whaddaya think you're doing? That's Donna Summer who's singin', ya moron!" the homeless man said sternly, finally turning around to face the cause of this upsetting disturbance.  
  
And when he did so, his middle-aged features quickly took on a mask of scary paleness covering his panicked expression and confused eyes.  
  
He tried to yell, run, anything that would have been a help to him to get the hell out of there; but neither his voice nor his legs were being exactly cooperative, right at that moment.  
  
The creature stared indifferently at the poor man's futile attempts to scream and escape, and simply raised one claw to its head-level. Then the thing shoved it harshly through Lance's wrinkled left arm, and pulled.  
  
The street bum tried futilely to get back his ripped-off arm, but the wound was bleeding too profusely for his body to make any movement at that moment.  
  
The fake Neil Diamond stared in pure shock, while that horrible deformed creature made its way closer to him, with slow and confident steps across the bloody basement's floor.  
  
"Please, please, I-I don't wanna die! I swear I'll return the hat, I just stole it 'cause I was desperate!" Lance begged, his cries getting louder and louder and echoing pointlessly throughout the empty, darkened basement.  
  
The humanoid demon slowly moved its gaze up and down the middle-aged man's sobbing form, then soon afterward grabbed Lance Randolph by his ragged shirt and separated his head from the rest of his body.  
  
"Clean up the mess," the creature simply ordered.  
  
At that point, three vampires entered the basement and joined the humanoid demon.  
  
"C'mon man, there's guts and blood scattered all over the goddamn floor!" a long-haired vampire complained crankily.  
  
A taller and dark-haired vampire, one that could easily be taken as the leader of the undead trio by his attitude and posture, advanced one long step forward and did his best to generate a disinterested and disdainful expression.  
  
"Just clean it up, you shithead," the vampire leader ordered him with an annoyed voice.  
  
A beautiful female vampire with long red locks of curly hair, generous red lips and a delicate milky-white face came forth. She sashayed her petite body up to the dark-haired vampire's one, and laughed almost maniacally.  
  
"What a stupid moron you've got as a childe in that one," the female vampire chimed in.  
  
"Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe I'm getting old, I can't pick 'em anymore," the alpha vamp retorted playfully, holding her slim hands and interlacing her skinny fingers with his own.  
  
"I don't know about that," the red-haired vampiress whispered libidinously into his ear, her pale hands now moving seductively along the leader's well- constructed physique.  
  
"Oh, spare me!" the younger bloodsucker protested lamely. "I *am* hearing this, you guys!"  
  
The vampire couple promptly ignored his complaints, and started to exchange generous kisses with lots of tongue.  
  
"Great," the long-haired creature sighed, kicking an old Donna Summer's album in his way. "Just fucking great. You two guys, always thinking you're the goddamn kings of the world!"  
  
"Queen in my case," the vampiress then said dryly. "And, honestly Johnny, just do as you're told and shut the hell up for once, would you?" she finished up, disinterest evident in her naturally poisonous voice while she focused on playing with her boyfriend's locks of dark hair.  
  
"Bitch," the young one sighed in a low voice, while grabbing the homeless old man and dragging his heavy dead body outside.  
  
He hated it when she called him Johnny. And it's not as if that damned whore doesn't know that...   
  
"Honey, tell me again why we're helping him â€" I mean, it," the red-haired vampiress pointed a polished and long nail in the direction of the humanoid demon, who was about a foot taller than the dark-haired vampire himself.  
  
And who had a silver medallion, with an unidentified symbol around its large neck.  
  
"Well, there's a lot of reasons why we should, but," Luke smirked evilly at his red-haired girlfriend. "Don't you think that destroying the world's a very good one?"  
  
"Destroying the world," the suddenly bored vampiress faked a yawn. "Can't guys ever think of anything new to do? You know what, that's why we vamps are so discriminated against in this world â€" male vampires, they never learn and keep making the same mistakes, with all that 'destroying the world' crap."  
  
The dark-haired creature of the night violently grabbed her fists, and smashed his beloved Isabelle's body against his own.  
  
"I don't think you're quite getting the point, my dear," Luke whispered firmly.  
  
"The ugly guy over there," he pointed in the humanoid demon's direction, which was deeply concentrating on reading an ancient dusty book. "Well, it's the real thing now, I can feel it," the vampire proudly finished, an uncontestable look of certainty and lust covering his pale face.  
  
"Right," the beautiful red-haired vamp snorted, clearly not convinced by Luke's maniacal words.  
  
The long-haired younger vampire re-entered the basement; his hands dirty with Lance Randolph's blood. "The crazy guy with the hat? Well, I got rid of him. And now the territory's clean for us, and the trap's armed for the kid," Gerard, the young one, announced proudly.  
  
"Whatever," Luke sighed disdainfully, promptly ignoring his young childe's annoying voice and turning back to steal a hungry kiss from Isabelle, his lover for the past two centuries.  
  
"Vampires," the demon called out imposingly for the trio of bloodsuckers, finally diverting its attention away from the aged book and taking the silver medallion into its claws.  
  
"Yes, master," Luke punctually answered, shoving his girlfriend's body away and turning his attention to the demon completely.  
  
"It is well. The ritual shall be proceeding on schedule, then," the demon considered things pointedly.  
  
"Just what the hell are they saying?" an utterly puzzled Gerard whispered to the red-haired vampiress, taking care not to interrupt his sire and the demon's conversation.  
  
Isabelle sighed tiredly. Her lover's childe could be a real pain in the ass.  
  
"My Luke's talking about the trap for the boy, and Ugly Demon there told him about witchcraft stuff that we're gonna use. Damn it, Johnny, we've already talked about the plan before!"  
  
"Name's John, Isabelle," the long-haired vampire said sarcastically, growling raggedly at his sire's irritating girlfriend. I really, really hate that bitch...   
  
"Whatever," the red-haired bloodsucker snorted tiredly.  
  
Gerard promptly opened his mouth to deliver a dirty remark at the vampiress' lack of interest, but a sudden explosion of white and blue flashes of light rapidly interrupted his plans of doing any such thing.  
  
"The spell's done," the dark-haired vampire known simply as Luke smirked in an utterly depraved way.  
  
***  
  
"Mr. Harris?" Kelly Marshall approached the couch where Xander was sitting, an unreadable look etched onto his face.  
  
The curly-haired nurse had found herself wondering about this guy's deal more than once during her shift, which was utterly odd: she'd attended like what, a thousand patients and relatives during her brief career as a successful nurse in St. Matthew's Hospital. But this guy...  
  
He was somehow different.  
  
He'd sent out mysterious glances following every new step or shadow that occasionally came into the waiting room, stares that seemed to capture everything and nothing around him at the same time.  
  
Plus he had beautiful, deep brown eyes lost in tormented oblivion and, strangely and contradictorily enough, a careful but undeniable vigilance about everything and everyone around him.  
  
They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul.  
  
For Kelly Marshall, staring almost viciously at that young man's heart- breaking sorrow over his injured girlfriend, they didn't know what they were talking about.  
  
Because if they did, if that claim was truly another one of life's incontestable rules, the blonde nurse was pretty much certain that Xander Harris was the one in desperate need of help.  
  
Not genuine but hungry, perverse and powerful guilt seemed to be tearing the dark-haired boy's soul apart in a fast, cruel blow.  
  
And that scared her.  
  
Kelly had felt an instant sympathy for the young man, from the very first minute he'd arrived at St. Matthew's with his bloody girlfriend's body in his arms; an odd feeling, beyond her understanding.  
  
And the curly-haired nurse really didn't want to voice her inner thoughts that clamored for an explanation about Xander's reasons for such haunted eyes â€" 'cause she was afraid of the answer, should she get it.  
  
Kelly feared that he'd be just one more of the many criminal perps often found in a hospital, someone who had no virtue and decency; a person capable of things that anyone normal can only imagine seeing on TV and the newspapers.  
  
A mother who beats her child.  
  
A husband who beats his wife.  
  
A dealer that sells his drugs to high-school students.  
  
A murderer.  
  
Those people were the figures of Kelly's most nauseous nightmares, and there were so many of them these days... so many, just too damn many for Nurse Marshall's liking.  
  
Well, uh, I guess they aren't exactly too few of them for anyone else's liking either, the blonde nurse considered.  
  
And, even if Kelly didn't actually believe that Xander was just one more for the road in that kind of bizarre gallery, she just could not help fearing that this was exactly what he was.  
  
One more for the road.  
  
It was, somehow, very curious. He was just another guy, simply another face in the crowd; but at the same time, such a different one.  
  
This Mr. Harris was someone who seemed to know things that most people didn't, horrifying things that reached his eyes and made them shadowy relics of what they should be.  
  
And Kelly really hated it when the victim needed to be put in the villain's clothing.  
  
"Mr. Harris? Xander?" the curly-haired young woman had to insist on calling Xander's name again, as he didn't reply to her first call.  
  
"Huh?" the dark-haired boy answered distractedly, finally noticing the petite woman standing in front of him with a chart in its hands and a pair of ocean-green eyes staring expectantly at him.  
  
"Oh, yeah, Kelly. I think I was a little out of it, sorry," Xander apologized, briefly recomposing himself on the couch and moving his previously distracted eyes to Kelly's naturally wide ones.  
  
The nurse offered him a sympathetic look, and smiled warmly. "It's OK. I'm bringing good news, actually."  
  
Kelly could swear that Xander's eyes sparkled hopefully, after she'd made this last statement.  
  
"Is Cordy â€" Cordelia, is she okay?" the dark-haired young boy asked anxiously.  
  
"We were able to stabilize her," the blonde young woman began. "We can't tell yet if there'll be any further complications, but I personally don't believe that'll happen; luckily, neither her kidney nor any other vital organs were damaged," Kelly paused and looked thoughtful for a second. "Your girlfriend's a pretty lucky girl, you know?"  
  
"Depends on your point of view," Xander replied automatically, but then analyzed the nurse's words more carefully.  
  
"Hey, no, wait. Cordy's not my girlfriend," the young man quickly spluttered.  
  
"Really?!" a surprised Kelly blurted out perhaps a little louder than she'd had intended to, winning several turns of heads from other people in the waiting room â€" which then made her blush a furious red color, like immediately.  
  
"Yeah, really," the dark-haired boy retorted, his impatient words being spoken in a rougher tone than what he'd desired them to be.  
  
"Oh â€" sorry, I-I don't know what made me assume that she was... I, it's, I mean, it's just that when I saw your ring, I just â€" I just presumed, I guess... you seemed to love her deeply," the curly-haired nurse babbled, hating herself for such inexcusable confusion.  
  
"I don't love her," Xander replied nervously. "I mean, I do love her, as a friend, obviously, but I'm in love with my Anya. We, we got married a while ago, it was raining, we got all wet and stuff, and a neighbor's soaked rabbit gatecrashed the ceremony, but I convinced Anya that it wasn't evil, and then she said she loved me and I said I loved her twice as much and she said she loved me all that times infinity. We were full of love, I think. J- just for each other, that is."  
  
Great, the young man thought. What a babbling idiot I am!   
  
The dark-haired boy looked down at his hands, and the sparkle of his engagement ring - which Anya had bought exactly a month before their wedding day - flashing from a hospital lamp instantly caught his attention, as a sudden realization hit him strongly.  
  
"Oh, shit," Xander simply whispered.  
  
"What?" Kelly demanded curiously.  
  
"Damn it!" Xander continued, now pacing viciously back and forth along the hospital's waiting room. "God, no! I'm so dead, Anya's gonna kill me!"  
  
"Sir â€" Mr. Harris, Xander," Kelly tentatively risked saying. "P-please, what the heck are you talking about?"  
  
"I mean, God," the time-traveller pondered, promptly ignoring the nurse's question. "When they sent me back here, I didn't remember the exact date â€" they just kept repeating 'seven days, you've got seven days...'"  
  
"Mr. Harris, are you OK?" the confused nurse insisted in a harder tone.  
  
"No, Anya's totally gonna kill me," Xander sighed in frustration and tiredness, letting his body fall carelessly onto the couch. The blonde nurse just stood there, a dumb look on her face.  
  
Strange, strange guy, she remarked to herself.  
  
"D-don't you wanna see Ms. Chase?" Kelly then questioned him carefully.  
  
"Oh â€" of course! It's, it's really good that Cordy's OK," the young man replied with a stammer, diverting his look from Kelly's. He was slightly ashamed about forgetting about his former girlfriend's situation, even if it had been just for one practically insignificant moment.  
  
Kelly Marshall called another nurse, who guided the dark-haired young man away to Cordelia's room. Kelly then took her glasses into her hands and cleaned them, putting them back on quickly so she'd not bump into anyone in her way.  
  
The nurse grabbed a pile of charts from the desk into her slim hands, and started to review some of them. She noticed that Dr. Lewis had signed in a pregnant 16-year-old teenager, Sarah Carter, in ward four for emergency care.  
  
Kelly sighed tiredly. She didn't know exactly why, or how; but she just found herself stuck with a strange certainty that Xander Harris and his recently declared non-girlfriend would be bringing an enormous headache to her upcoming day.  
  
"Good evening, Ms. Carter, I'm Kelly Marshall and I'm gonna be your nurse, OK? Now, I want..."  
  
***  
  
The male nurse pointed out Cordelia's room to Xander and glanced in the direction at the dark-haired boy, who absent-mindedly sent him a "Thanks," and went in.  
  
Cordelia Chase was lying passively on the bed, which was covered with white sheets. Her pale face and several disorganized brunette locks of hair offered a completely different look against his former girlfriend's previous Queen C image; which was one of an always well-dressed spoiled girl, masquerading as a beautiful and delightful princess.  
  
Still, she looked prettier than ever.  
  
The young man approached her fragile figure silently, long and lights steps prudently advancing to Cordelia's still body.  
  
At her side, Xander glanced at the seer's beautiful features and softly caressed her short hair. A sudden and deep regret filled his soul. He honestly didn't know what he'd have done, if she had died.  
  
"Xander," the pretty brunette suddenly mumbled.  
  
The dark-haired young man jumped to his feet in surprise, but quickly came closer to Cordelia's figure. He'd noticed that she was still asleep, and he smiled weakly.  
  
She's calling for me, in her dreams? That idea was strange, but somehow funny and comforting to him.  
  
"I'm here, Cordy," Xander replied affectionately, not really expecting an answer.  
  
The dark-haired boy kissed her forehead and, almost addictively, stared at the sleeping brunette very intensely for several moments.  
  
Millions of thoughts had been running freely through his exhausted mind just barely minutes ago. Contradictory sensations had burned his soul, with the confused memories and feelings.  
  
Happiness, rightness, love.  
  
Chaos, nightmares, Hell.  
  
A sparkling and beautiful Anya in a white leather wedding dress.  
  
God, she looked so beautiful, the young man remembered painfully.  
  
Their wedding. Their friends. Their love.  
  
But destiny had that tricky and sardonic sense of humor, where the matter of Xander Harris was concerned.  
  
Hopeless nights, loose ends.  
  
No, the young man had insisted reluctantly to himself.  
  
He was going to change what had happened, even if he had to die to do it.  
  
But at that moment, quite honestly, Xander couldn't care less about prior events and the pain that had cruelly encapsulated his life for the last month.  
  
'Cause right now, he had momentarily forgotten all the painful memories that had forcefully occupied his mind, during all those weeks since the prophecy had come to pass and Angelus had ascended.  
  
His entire attention was focused exclusively and entirely onto a certain beautiful brunette, a young woman who had once held the keys to his mind, heart and soul.  
  
The young woman whom he'd almost gotten killed not once but twice with his lies, foolishness and â€" apparently his greatest skill â€" his inability to protect the ones he loved.  
  
"Xander," Cordelia groaned painfully.  
  
"Sshh, Cor, everything's gonna be OK," Xander replied softly.  
  
The brunette seer slowly opened her sleepy eyes and stared at her former boyfriend's figure, panic quickly consuming her entire soul along with desperate fear and pain, and making Cordelia's innards strongly shiver.  
  
"P-please, d-don't hurt me," the girl then said in a low and fearful voice.  
  
A confused and puzzled Xander automatically stepped back. "Cordy? W-what are you talkin' about? It's me, Xander, I'm not gonna hurt you..."  
  
"You're not Xander," the young seer replied sharply. "Can't be, y-you hurt me," she then added in fear.  
  
"What? Look, I-I'm not sure what's going on here, but I'd never, ever hurt you â€" uh, not intentionally, OK?" the dark-haired boy managed to say, though his former girlfriend's tremulous words were hitting him with an almost unnatural strength, over his already strong feelings of guilt over the seer's injuries.  
  
"Get away from me," Cordelia said dazedly.  
  
The brunette girl was disoriented and confused. Everything just seemed so... wrong.  
  
Why? God, just tell me why? the confused seer had asked herself the same question, over and over in every moment of consciousness that her body had allowed her to have since... *it* had found her.  
  
It... She didn't want to give this 'it' a name. It was just an 'it', it wasn't something factual, or... real. It couldn't be, no way in Hell â€" she wouldn't believe that.  
  
It was simply an 'it'. Period.  
  
After all, why would Xander Harris try to kill me, for God's sake?   
  
"Get away from me!" Cordelia's now-screaming voice cried out tearfully, violently avoiding Xander's futile attempts to reach her pale hands with his own by shoving him away from her, with as much force as her weakened body would allow.  
  
And although Xander barely moved, he didn't try to touch her anymore.  
  
He didn't even try to think anymore.  
  
It was almost the last straw, in this situation during the insane last few weeks where he'd lost so much. The thought came to Xander and even though he tried to resist it, he failed.  
  
What's the point anymore? Even Cordy's turned against me...   
  
And that hurt.  
  
'Cause to think and discover the motivations that would explain his former girlfriend believing that he'd not only hurt her, but had come back to do such an implausible and horrifying thing again â€" to see her scared, wide eyes, if he simply came near...  
  
To think about that, it really hurt a lot.  
  
What the hell's going on here? was all that Xander's brain was capable of thinking next.  
  
But there was no reply other than the hysterical screams that erupted from his former girlfriend's wide, scared mouth.  
  
***  
  
Well, here's chapter number 10, I guess.  
  
Uh, I didn't really like it - but I swear, in the next chapters, there'll be lots of Scooby Gang, Fang Gang and Faith/Xander interaction.  
  
So, now... review me! Please, c'mon, it'll take you just a short, brief minute! Please, I've got a real addiction problem for them... 


	11. A Shift Into The Night

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work – I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me – please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
Xander didn't know what to do.  
  
Quite honestly, for the very first time since he'd traveled back from the future, he really felt like things were completely out of control, simply... a complete nightmare.  
  
Even in the most despairing moments of the chaotic previous hours, when there hadn't been anyone by his side to tell him that everything would be okay, that they were gonna make it – even then, the dark-haired boy had always felt that tiny, radiant spark of hope inside him.  
  
Maybe it was just something naturally arising from his personality, the one belonging to the eternal and unchangeable Optimistic Guy; the one that kept going after everyone else has seemingly simply given up the good fight, thrown in the towel and accepted imminent defeat.  
  
Xander was a dreamer, perhaps.  
  
But now... why didn't he feel that spark of hope anymore? Why couldn't he find any deeply hidden feelings of hope to hold onto, so that he could just go on and do what he had to do?  
  
It had always been the one thing that had permitted Xander to survive and get stronger, during all those hellish years of living on the top of the Hellmouth – the almost childish sensation that everything had to, eventually, end up OK.  
  
Since usually, things couldn't actually get much worse.  
  
For Xander Harris, that kind of attitude had always wrongfully been taken as an uncontestable truth but, surprisingly enough, it had also usually sufficed to let him survive another day.  
  
Was being a dreamer just being naïve on his part? Maybe – probably. But Xander didn't care. His lifetime's philosophy had worked just goddamn fine, till now.  
  
But now, the young man wasn't certain anymore what to expect from this upcoming, extremely tricky week.  
  
His future.  
  
The world's future.  
  
Why couldn't he find, deep in his soul, that tiny, radiant spark of hope anymore?  
  
It was exactly the kind of question that he really didn't want to answer right now.  
  
***  
  
Kelly Marshall had gotten really annoyed with Ms. Carter – the girl had just insisted on denying that she was pregnant over and over again, even though the pink-haired teenager had an utterly huge six-month's worth of belly underneath the hospital's baby-blue outfit.  
  
At first, the curly-haired nurse had thought on calling down a psychiatrist to the ward; but then John Denver, a young med student, had examined Ms. Carter again and called for a drug test – which had been later come back positive.  
  
Fabulous, Kelly thought sarcastically, while the blonde young woman aggressively threw her gloves across the empty exam room. Not only did I completely misdiagnose an easy prognosis *and* put my patient's life in danger, but I totally blew it in front of Dr. Lewis and that stupid medical student of hers!   
  
The young woman looked thoughtful, while a wave of sudden rage went through her mind regarding the soon-to-be doctor, John. Not that Denver's really important or anything, but right now he's probably telling everyone in the hospital about this, even the upstairs cleaner and my elderly hernia patient!   
  
Kelly was frustrated. As she'd previously guessed would happen, an immense headache was beginning to cover her entire brain with merciless strength.  
  
A pain which felt pretty much like having a thousand cuckoo birds pecking your cranium, again and again and again, without even one pitiful minute of rest.  
  
The truth was, her mind wasn't on any of the multiple symptoms of cocaine abuse that little Ms. Carter had presented, or the blood samples on the corner of the desk which Dr. Lewis had asked her to send to the lab before 10 o'clock.  
  
Which were, in fact, already twenty minutes late.  
  
Plus, as if she hadn't already had enough on her plate, the perpetual nasty comments that Mr. 'I'll-be-a-great-doctor-and-you're-only-a-simple-nurse' John 'Med Student' Denver had thrown at her, rattling around and destroying her self-esteem.  
  
Which, granted, were easier to cope with than his one terrible attempt at flirting with her – a thing that'd made the blonde nurse shudder, with a particularly bizarre intensity.  
  
No, right now, at that precise moment, her mind was elsewhere.  
  
On a certain dark-haired young man, to be absolutely specific.  
  
So, OK... I'm thinking about that Xander guy – the goofy, cute one. Well, not that he'd displayed any real goofiness, or had freely thrown out easy smiles to anyone.  
  
However, Kelly just guessed he wasn't the brooding type one, as that type of guy pretty much irritated the young woman.  
  
After all, she already worked in a hospital – and constant grief and sadness weren't exactly the greatest aphrodisiac to turn on a girl like Kelly.  
  
Given how his brunette friend was dramatically fighting for her life, the blonde nurse didn't exactly expect for him to run around making jokes and having this big, comforting smile on his lips.  
  
She had found herself wondering about Xander more than once, while attending little Ms. Carter – the teenager mother-to-be and drug addict.  
  
Those brown, haunted eyes.  
  
'My name's Xander Harris and I'm a soul to be saved' – this was the sentence that seemed to be written on his forehead, with big, colorful letters at that moment.  
  
'A Penny If You Save Me' – could that be his secret slogan too?  
  
Didn't his friends notice his despair? Nurse Marshall wondered then, did he even have friends? Or was Ms. Cordelia Chase his only one?  
  
Why wasn't his so-called fiancée with him, at such a difficult moment? Was he afraid of losing his, an obvious and easy observation, beloved brunette friend?  
  
Why did Xander Harris, for God's sake, seem to be slowly but surely being eaten up by annihilating, powerful guilt?  
  
Kelly shivered, trying futilely to get Xander's image out from her mind.  
  
He certainly wasn't a good thing to be thinking about right now – as Kelly was only one step away from flushing her entire nursing career away in a single night, which really wouldn't be a good occurrence.  
  
And right now, the curly-haired nurse was pretty much sure that a lot of it was the dark-haired young man's fault.  
  
Not that it was truly his fault, of course. He hadn't done anything other than breathe and babble around her, after all. But most assuredly, she'd have been able to concentrate a lot more on her duties if it wasn't for his presence...  
  
"Ohhh," a frustrated Kelly sighed torturously.  
  
That boy was so confusing.  
  
The curly-haired nurse took her glasses into her hands, and viciously started cleaning them. If she had any strange habits and odd obsessions, this was certainly one of them – constantly cleaning the transparent lenses every ten to twenty minutes, an immutable schedule that had earned her the nickname of 'The Glasses' Merciless Maniac' to all her co-workers.  
  
They even had a stupid jingle for it, one that that male nurse David from OB just *had* to sing and dance to, during all her goddamn breaks in the nurses' private room.  
  
Kelly sighed – she was beginning to feel a little tired of thinking. Her headache had officially arrived, and memories of its previous incarnations told the young nurse that it'd keep her company for many long, painful hours.  
  
Great. What else's missing from a perfect day like this, huh? a defeated Kelly thought bitingly.  
  
"Marshall, get ya lame ass outta that chair right now!" a yelling male voice called for her, a little too abruptly for Kelly's headache's liking.  
  
She furiously turned her gaze to the exam room's door and found her friend and co-worker, the front desk's night shift attendant Nicholas McDermott, staring back at her with wide eyes.  
  
Which instantly brought her out from that pointless zombie state, where she'd been lost in her own hellish little world.  
  
Great, thinking about that Xander character hasn't only meant the possible destruction of a promising career, but *also* a pool of saliva on the couch! the nurse suddenly realized in horror.  
  
Kelly knew that she'd just provided the perfect material for many a future mocking from Nick, a cute guy whom she had a little crush on.  
  
"Damn, girl," the desk attendant glanced mockingly at her pitiful-looking state.  
  
I'm so not in the mood for this right now...   
  
"What is it, Nick? I really don't have time for this, you know," Kelly promptly stopped her co-worker's mocking words with a dry, sharp reply.  
  
"Yeah, you were busy dribbling," he retorted in a low voice, each word evidently as sarcastic as possible.  
  
"What did you say?" the curly-haired nurse demanded wildly, her patience running short at that point.  
  
"Hey, cool down, 'kay?" the Afro-American man suddenly adopted a defensive tone.  
  
He continued, "It's your patient, in ward five. She's freaking out, I guess," Nick looked thoughtful for a moment and then continued, "Well, she's screaming and scaring all the patients in the entire ward. I really think you should go and see her – Ms. Kayse, right?"  
  
"Ms. Chase," Kelly absent-mindedly corrected her colleague's mistake.  
  
"Yeah, that's right, Chase, the pretty one," Nick chuckled cleverly, then asking in a mocking tone if she'd follow him or if her glasses needed a special clean-up – while exiting the exam room's door.  
  
The blonde nurse just snorted, and told him sharply that she was on her way.  
  
It had been a long, hard night so far, and it seemed that her guesses about the Xander and Cordelia couple were actually beginning to become true.  
  
Her headache was certainly not pleased.  
  
***  
  
"Get away from me! I-I, stop using his face! It can't be you – him, it can't be! Go away!" Cordelia's hysterical cries were sharper than a spiked dagger into Xander's dazed mind.  
  
He certainly didn't try to touch her anymore, though.  
  
Xander just stared, at his former girlfriend's violent protests against his presence; shock, confusion and pain powerfully and sardonically destroying every fiber of his being, with their nearly supernatural strength.  
  
"Sir, get away from the patient," a rough male voice demanded from the other side of the room.  
  
Xander hadn't noticed the arrival of two hospital security guards until now, and so the time-traveller quickly gazed at them. They were probably around their early thirties, they had revolvers firmly held in their hands and cautiously pointed at him.  
  
"Are you okay?" one of the rent-a-cops asked protectively to the screaming Cordelia, who seemed to calm down a little after their abrupt arrival.  
  
"Y-yeah, I am," the brunette girl answered absent-mindedly, her scared gaze focused solely on her former boyfriend's confused glances at her.  
  
The two security men promptly grabbed and handcuffed Xander a little too roughly, who seemed to have lost any capacity to speak – protesting and claiming innocence wasn't exactly possible, right then.  
  
And, even if he could do so, the chances of being believed by these rude and large men weren't exactly good. Looking alternately at them and Cordelia, Xander wasn't sure what he was feeling.  
  
Shock, horror, confusion?  
  
Anger? Betrayal?  
  
The young man wasn't able to precisely determine his own feelings, at that moment.  
  
"What's going on here?!" a recently arrived Kelly demanded, obviously wanting some answers about the chaotic scene which the curly-haired nurse had found with her brusque entrance into Cordelia's room.  
  
Xander's attention was drawn to the relatively familiar voice of Nurse Marshall. But then the taller security guy – the one that was strongly pushing his face against the room's green wall – sent a hard fist into the small of his back, when the young man finally tried to give voice to his protests.  
  
It was always good to know, how your civil rights are protected and respected in America.  
  
"I'd be certainly pleased to know, Nurse Marshall, " Dr. Penn's demanding voice loudly filled the room, and Kelly stopped dead in her tracks at hearing Michael's obviously furious tone.  
  
After this shift, she'd most likely be lucky if she still had a nursing job left.  
  
Kelly couldn't help thinking, I wonder if they need a new McDonald's waitress in the place next to my apart...   
  
The sandy-haired doctor stepped in front of Kelly's suddenly pale figure. "Well?"  
  
"Doctor Penn," the blonde nurse tried to explain, but her nervousness was already betraying this futile attempt to do so.  
  
Great, she rebuked herself. Now you're sweating, Kelly!   
  
"Nurse Marshall? Do I get an explanation about the patient under your care, or is this a bad time for you?" an irritated Michael Penn questioned the blonde young woman, the sarcasm obvious in his voice.  
  
"I'm not sure, I-I just got here myself," Kelly replied in a small voice.  
  
The blue-eyed doctor quickly made his way to Cordelia's bed, intending to check on the patient's safety. The last thing this hospital needs is another lawsuit... he thought.  
  
"No wonder the government wants to close this place down," Michael began with an annoyed tone. "The staff's so incompetent, the fact that this hospital's managed to stay open all these years is actually a miracle!"  
  
Oh, you listen to me, you arrogant prick! If the government wants to shut us down, it's because of all the tax-payer money they don't wanna spend – and the assholes like you, who don't give a rat's ass about a patient's well-being and just want to discharge them as fast as you can!   
  
"I'm sorry," the curly-haired nurse whispered weakly, as the guards took Xander away.  
  
Oh, God, I'm such a coward, Kelly's headache was stronger than ever, while frustration and tiredness seemed to consume her entire being with an abrupt, savage strength.  
  
"You should be," the sandy-haired doctor retorted disdainfully.  
  
"Xander – that guy, he was with her. I, I never imagined that he'd represent any danger, he didn't really seem..." Kelly's voice trailed off – had this Xander character really attacked the girl on the bed?  
  
Was he sick enough to have shoved that blade through Ms. Chase's abdomen and then carried her to the hospital, acting as if his despair was authentic and his fear was legitimate?  
  
Could this be the answer, for why he had those haunted eyes?  
  
But Michael no longer had any interest in the nurse's justifications and excuses. The young doctor injected a dose of sedative into his brunette patient's body, and tried to calm Cordelia down with words of comfort and compassion.  
  
At that moment, Kelly felt really bad for her earlier thoughts about Dr. Penn's supposed lack of care about a patient's well-being. She'd forgotten that Michael's day had probably been as hard, as stressful as her own shift.  
  
"Why did Xander do this to me?" Cordelia kept asking sorrowfully, over and over in a low murmur, her words being spoken with easily detectable fear and confusion.  
  
"Everything's gonna be all right, he's not here anymore," Michael said softly, though his gaze was diverted away from Cordelia's scared features when he noticed Kelly's continuous movements with her slim hands, trying to get his attention.  
  
"Hey, Linda, would you mind monitoring the patient?" the sandy-haired doctor called for another female nurse, who had entered the room a short while ago. Kelly exited the room, making a final gesture to Michael to join her.  
  
The chubby nurse promptly agreed, and was quickly informed by Michael about the brunette's condition. The blue-eyed young man quickly gave Linda Cordelia's chart, and then hurriedly searched the hall for the curly-haired nurse's familiar face.  
  
He didn't have to search for too long though, as the blonde woman quickly appeared; a worried look easily seen in her ocean-green wide eyes.  
  
"I wanna talk to you about Mr. Harris," Kelly informed him pointedly.  
  
"Who?" the confused young doctor asked, as that name wasn't familiar to him.  
  
"Oh, right. Mr. Harris, Xander – the guy who attacked Ms. Chase? Well, I wanted to talk to you about him," the nurse quickly replied, feeling a little stupid for not remembering the fact that Dr. Penn had never actually spoken with the man now in custody.  
  
"Oh," Michael acknowledged immediately. "Well, the cops will no doubt take him away soon, thank goodness the bastard was caught," an unexpected tone of revulsion overtook Michael's usually soft voice.  
  
Kelly's face twisted in sudden fear and awe.  
  
"That's exactly what I wanna talk to you about," she began. "I'm not entirely sure Mr. Harris' case is actually a police situation. Don't you think it's kinda odd – if he had actually wounded Ms. Chase, he wouldn't be here just waiting to be caught and arrested, surely?"  
  
"There's a lot of things that could be passing through a sufficiently sick mind like his to hurt a helpless girl like Ms. Chase, Nurse Marshall. Guilt, for instance?" the sandy-haired doctor asked piercingly.  
  
"Well...if the guy did it in the heat of the moment – if that's what you're supposing, don't you think that he *wouldn't* have entered the poor girl's room, and actually spoken with her?" Kelly replied sharply.  
  
Michael gazed at the lanky outline of Kelly's confident profile, and started to finally realize what was the exact meaning of the curly-haired nurse's prompt retort.  
  
The young doctor kept his silence though, intentionally leaving a blank space for Kelly to conclude her thoughts around his patient and her supposed attacker.  
  
"I talked to him, in the waiting room. He seemed... confused. Actually, looking back on it, I think he was completely delusional. He told me stuff about someone sending him back here – from the future, I'd guess. And there was also this weird statement about evil bunnies; his sentences weren't exactly full of logic, but I thought he was just grieving over Ms. Chase's injury..."  
  
Kelly paused, getting her breath back before continuing to talk again.  
  
"His eyes had this strange look, you know? As if he was in deep pain and suffering. Once again, I thought it was because his friend was hurt and all," the blonde nurse finally concluded, promptly diverting her gaze to Michael's one as if looking for his opinion about what she had just stated to him.  
  
"Dr. Penn, Kelly," a voice interrupted their reflections over the matter. A middle-aged nurse was suddenly there, holding a file in her slightly wrinkled hands.  
  
"Can't it wait, Nurse Keaton?" Michael said impatiently, upset for being interrupted.  
  
"I just thought you'd like to know that I've gotten Ms. Chase's complete medical file. And should I call the people in Los Angeles she put down as the ones to be contacted in case of emergency? Which I think is pretty much what we have here," the older nurse said annoyingly.  
  
"Call them," the sandy-haired doctor replied dryly, his eyes not diverting themselves from Kelly's for a moment.  
  
The middle-aged nurse got the idea and snorted, annoyed at the younger man's arrogance, leaving the two of them alone once again.  
  
At the same time, Michael noticed Kelly's features tense hastily.  
  
"He also told me Ms. Chase didn't know anyone in town," the curly-haired young woman stated blankly, suddenly feeling a little surprised at all the twists that Ms. Chase's case had brought tonight.  
  
"Perhaps he's schizophrenic," Michael told her absent-mindedly, his mind still occupied with reflections and conclusions about Xander's possible diagnosis of mental disease.  
  
"Onset of schizophrenia usually occurs during early to mid-twenties, and I wouldn't say he's any older than twenty-three," Kelly replied, fearing her own words.  
  
If Xander was actually sick, the blonde nurse wouldn't spare any effort to help him; as the thought of that dark-haired boy deliberately hurting the brunette girl whom he'd honestly showed compassion for earlier wasn't exactly the greatest mental image of the year, at all.  
  
Kelly felt scared and sad for him. It was horrible how good people always seemed to suffer in this world.  
  
Thinking about how this sickness could have led Mr. Harris to almost kill a young woman whom he no doubt loved, even if just as a dear friend – the painful memories he'd have to carry for the rest of his life, the guilt, the fear over his own actions after he'd recovered his sanity upon treatment of the disease...  
  
It was during exactly these moments that Kelly wondered if her career was truly worth it.  
  
"You're probably right. I'll call Psychiatry, then. Make sure the cops don't take Mr. Harris away, will you?" Michael asked, already walking away down the hallway without waiting for an answer from the curly-haired nurse.  
  
Kelly sighed tiredly, and also started to walk away in the opposite direction. Dr. Lewis would have probably prepared a few new charts for patients under her care, and the last thing the nurse needed now was to screw up her career even more than what she'd already done this day.  
  
"Kelly!" Michael then yelled loudly enough, to win his co-workers' and a few patients' attention.  
  
The curly-haired nurse turned around to face the doctor, and Michael mouthed a silent 'good work' at her, which Kelly accepted with a weak smile.  
  
Recognition, encouragement and friendship were exactly what she needed to withstand the tough and emotionally tense routine, which the endless days at St. Matthew's hospital genuinely were.  
  
***  
  
Xander stared at the shrink, as the man mouthed the usual phrases.  
  
Mr. Harris. We just want to help you. You're sick. We're not gonna hurt you. We're your friends.  
  
Shut the hell up, would you? was all the dark-haired boy could think in response.  
  
Xander couldn't stand it anymore. Great, now I'm Crazy Guy...   
  
Cordelia was nearly dead because of him and now, she actually thought he'd tried to kill her.  
  
Was it a spell? Another dirty, unfair card played as part of Evil's plan to stop his mission?  
  
And now a fat man who actually had donut fragments stuck within his beard, was trying to get into his head with a lame Sigmund Freud act.  
  
Chains, spikes and whips didn't even come close to matching the real, excruciating torture of listening to Dr. Robert Grissom's psychiatric bullshit.  
  
"Can I call you Alex?" Robert risked asking cautiously, holding Xander's confiscated ID in his hands.  
  
"Mr. Harris is just fine," the dark-haired boy replied dryly, never bothering to divert his eyes from the psychiatrist's ones.  
  
"Okay then, Mr. Harris," a frustrated Grissom retorted.  
  
The 57-year-old doctor had already spent nearly 25 minutes with this supposedly schizophrenic patient in his office. And, so far, he'd not gotten any answer other than dry nods or more usually utter silence from the dark-haired young man in front of him.  
  
"Don't you want to tell me what you're thinking?" the psychiatrist asked, preparing himself for engaging in a mind game with his patient, and a conversation that could finally lead the two of them somewhere.  
  
The deal is, I'm a time-traveller from the future. One that, after seeing practically everyone I've ever loved dying at the hands of a demon that's a so-called good guy when his soul's around, is here to stop imminent chaos and very likely the end of the world to boot.   
  
"Mr. Harris?" Robert insisted softly, not wanting to scare the patient.  
  
"Uh... there's just nothing really interesting to say, I guess," Xander replied, with the inevitable sarcastic half-smile appearing on his lips.  
  
The young man promptly ignored the psychiatrist's next boring words, deeply lost in his thoughts – he needed to get the hell out of there as soon as possible, and find a way to avoid the hospital security net.  
  
A defeated Dr. Robert Grissom sighed exhaustedly. The truth was, he knew he wouldn't get anywhere with this patient without using more severe methods – perhaps a shock confrontation with reality would bring out the memories of his own actions, and then make him at least talk about and discuss them.  
  
Where the heck are those dummies that were supposed to bring his medication? Grissom wondered, annoyed with the fact that a patient had to wait for decent care because of the incompetence of some minor functionaries at St. Matthew's.  
  
"Why did you hurt that girl, Mr. Harris?" Grissom questioned softly.  
  
And that was the last straw for Xander's embattled, frazzled mind.  
  
"I didn't hurt her," he replied furiously, getting up from his chair in an obvious state of rage.  
  
The psychiatrist promptly pressed the alarm for help, fear starting to consume his whole being. Even though Xander was handcuffed, Robert still wondered why he'd always have to let the patient remain free and not correctly tied to the chair to protect the doctor's person from a possible attack, so he could feel a little more comfortable.  
  
"Mr. Harris, please, calm down," Robert whispered fearfully, trying to hide it and stay firm in front of his patient – but failing miserably.  
  
"Why would I hurt her? I love her! Why'd you think I would ever hurt her?" Xander demanded frenziedly, viciously pacing back and forth along the small, stuffy office.  
  
Soon, three men abruptly entered the room. Two forcefully grabbed Xander, while one of them applied a needle with a dose of sedative into his right forearm.  
  
"Are you all right, Dr. Grissom?" one of the men asked, noticing the psychiatrist's panicked gaze.  
  
"Yes, yes I'm fine. Is the patient fully sedated?" Robert retorted, recovering his composure.  
  
Xander could barely hear the four men's conversation. The young man started to feel his body go weak, each of his muscles flash-paralyzing and his mind slowly but progressively being taken over by a wave of darkness.  
  
Obviously they didn't know how the four of them were bringing about the Apocalypse, the end of the world.  
  
Or perhaps he really was crazy?  
  
Maybe it was that itchy burning sensation, or maybe it was the strong feeling of failure and defeat in Xander's mind, that started the inner mental cascade.  
  
Maybe it's just that I'm too useless to do anything right...   
  
Could he have *really* lost his sanity? This world was a strange and often- changing one, that much Xander already knew.  
  
But was the concept a real or ridiculous possibility? Many things could be responsible for his current situation, a numberless amount of things actually.  
  
Spells, magic, illusion, demon attacks – the list was a never-ending one.  
  
And now, any attempt to think otherwise seemed too painful and pointless. His sedated body was beginning to betray his mind's futile efforts to think clearly.  
  
In fact, it now seemed to dismiss any attempt at thinking beyond a straight concept of past, present and future. Weakness, disappointment and a sudden urge to admit defeat were forcefully overtaking his mind.  
  
Xander started to feel as if he'd finally reached the ultimate bottom of the barrel; and any attempt to get out of that cold, despairing place, would just turn out to be setting himself up for another impending downfall.  
  
But suddenly, an abrupt entrance into the room ferociously interrupted his thoughts.  
  
A familiar face crossed the room, after forcefully knocking unconscious the three men that tried to stop her. And at that point, Xander pretty much knew he could actually be going crazy.  
  
It was odd to realize, that Faith would turn out to be the face that his insanity would come up with. It was a weird and unpredictable place that his subconscious seemed to be wandering through, because the last thing that he'd expected was a last-minute rescue with the rogue Slayer's sudden appearance.  
  
"C'mon Xander, let's get the hell out of here!"  
  
Such a cliched situation was even grotesque; and so damned unlikely to actually happen too, when neither of them were characters in cute fairy tales or unrealistic TV shows, where the good guys were always saved at the last possible moment.  
  
"Xander!"  
  
Or was this a dream? Perhaps he was lost in a literal nightmare, and all the pain and hopelessness would simply magically disappear the moment he opened his eyes, to welcome reality once again.  
  
A warm, comforting place where Anya would hold him tightly, and tell him how much she deeply loved him; a place where Angel was only a vague ally from the past, who you could always poke some fun at.  
  
"Xander?!"  
  
Did I dream it all, this entire time? But then, why don't I feel like I'm dreaming now?   
  
"I'm sorry OK, but you're not exactly giving me any other choice," Faith hit him as she whispered impatiently, after trying futilely to snap Xander out of his apparently entranced state.  
  
All this time, Dr. Robert Grissom had been trying to hide his considerably large body under his office desk, while watching the ongoing events in shock.  
  
He watched as the beautiful brunette, after exhaustively calling out his patient's name, punched him as lightly as her Slayer strength would allow. It obviously hurt, but it was enough to bring his patient back again to full awareness.  
  
"Faith?" an utterly confused Xander managed to whisper.  
  
"Well, no, I'm actually Santa," the brunette Slayer retorted sarcastically, amused at Xander's puzzlement and evidently groggy state.  
  
"H-how?" his supposed tone of incredulity sounded dizzy to Faith's ears, as the sedative's effect became stronger in the young man's body.  
  
"Same way as you, boy toy, but I'd really rather not go into details now," Faith replied pointedly, noticing the frightened figure of Robert Grissom hiding in the opposite corner of the room.  
  
"You," the brunette girl turned her gaze to Robert's scared one. "Gimme your car keys."  
  
The middle-aged psychiatrist didn't think twice about throwing his brand- new BMW's keys into that gorgeous young woman's hands, who accepted them without ceremony and directed his patient to the room's door.  
  
"Faith, I don't know if I can make it – I, I think that I was sedated," Xander informed her, his words no longer following any coherent order to actually question the why's and how's of the girl's - if nothing else, odd and unexpected - presence.  
  
But while the two of them were eluding St. Matthews' security as well as the L.A.P.D., managing to escape successfully from the hospital to a momentarily secure cheap hotel, Xander felt something shiny grow in his soul.  
  
Slowly, almost shyly, a feeling was starting to once again fill his being with its incredibly warm, dazzling strength.  
  
A spark of radiant, ecstatic hope was once more dispelling his doubts and reassuring his dazed mind, with its supremely powerful presence.  
  
***  
  
Reviews! Many of them! Yes! I'm totally crazy for them! C'mon! Write! 


	12. Days Like This

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work â€" I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me â€" please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
Fred was interlacing her delicate fingers nervously, a large mug of chamomile tea in place between her skinny hands.  
  
Her attention was completely focused on the suddenly spectacular show that the cubes of ice inside her mug had become, when the unforeseen sound of a phone ringing started to fill the Hyperion's lounge with its usual strident noise.  
  
Jumping out of her chair in fright on account of the sudden disturbance, the Texan girl dropped the mug, and a considerable amount of tea splattered onto the desk. Drenching check payments, client's files and some dusty books that were on the top of the wooden surface, very much to Fred's horror.  
  
"Oh no, Wesley's so gonna kill me," the brunette girl sighed in frustration, trying futilely to dry the liquid from the desk with her jacket sleeve.  
  
But there was just too much spilled tea, and the soaked cloth wasn't enough to cut it. Muttering irked complaints at her clumsy incident, Fred then noticed the phone still ringing insistently and promptly made her way to it.  
  
Picking up the telephone and bringing it to her ear, Fred was about to talk â€" but then an ice cube popped out of the empty mug and fell directly into Cordelia's new makeup kit, which the brunette young woman had bought only three days before.  
  
Fred found herself suddenly absorbed with brief memories of her seer friend, sighing in worry and preoccupation. It had already been a couple of hours since Cordelia might have been abducted by Xander, and they still hadn't heard anything.  
  
Wesley had called Sunnydale while Angel and Gunn had gone out onto the nighttime streets of L.A., trying vainly to locate the former Sunnydale couple â€" or, at least, any clues as to their whereabouts.  
  
But they'd returned empty-handed, and with an utterly unanticipated situation to handle. So Fred's nervousness and agitation had only increased more and more, during those clueless hours.  
  
~ Uh, hello? Is anyone there? ~ a female voice asked tentatively from the other end of the line, when the utter silence since Fred had first picked up the phone didn't exactly leave her any other choice.  
  
The brunette Texan girl finally snapped out of her own thoughts, grabbing an old piece of fabric and cleaning the last vestiges of her disaster with the mug of tea.  
  
~ Yeah, there's me. I mean... ~ Fred sighed, trying to reorganize her words, when her soaked sleeve encountered another pile of papers on the desk.  
  
~ Oh man, he's so totally gonna kill me, ~ the Texan girl automatically rebuked herself nervously, finding the disaster that she had created growing more and more with every passing minute.  
  
~ What? ~ the confused voice replied, with a puzzled and uncertain tone.  
  
~ Oh, sorry! It wasn't you who I was talking to, it's just this whole thing with tea and ice that I was drinking, and they've just splashed all over... uh, we're Angel Investigations, we help the helpless! ~ Fred tried futilely to stop her incoherent babbling, but muffled chuckles could be heard from the unknown voice on the other end of the line.  
  
A long silence then followed, and the bewildered voice finally asked with a little too much bafflement, ~ You drink tea with ice? ~  
  
~ Well, yes, I do! ~ Fred replied defensively, but lowering her voice immediately. ~ What can we do to help you? ~  
  
~ I wanna talk to Angel. Uh, please, ~ the female voice replied uncertainly.  
  
~ Oh, Angel, well, I'm not so sure if he's available now. Perhaps you'd like to leave him a message, or... ~  
  
Fred then risked tentatively saying, ~ ...perhaps you could tell me what it's about, and I'll see what I can do for you? ~  
  
After all, Fred Burkle knew that what with Cordelia's recent disappearance and Xander's unique circumstances, the centuries-older vampire would certainly not be in the best mood to pick up any new clients. And she couldn't allow him to get into this, without at least giving herself a shot at helping this probable prospective customer.  
  
And also, it'd be a good chance to prove to herself that she could actually do something right without some sort of constant vigilance on the part of the others, dogging her steps.  
  
The unknown voice sighed, sounding half-impatient, half-tired. ~ Look, it's really, really important... ~  
  
Another silence took place for a few brief instants, muffled static being the only noise heard while the voice's owner seemed to have paused thoughtfully. ~ Tell him it's Buffy on the phone. ~  
  
Fred's jaw fell in pure astonishment and incredulity, and the slim brunette had to make a strong effort to recover her ability to speak. ~ Buffy? You mean, dead Buffy? The girl who came back and... oh, I'm so sorry! I'm always saying things I'm not supposed to... ~  
  
The blonde Slayer chuckled smoothly on her cell phone at the Texan girl's words. ~ That's OK, I didn't know I had a nickname, ~ she replied lightly. ~ So, can I talk to Angel now? ~  
  
"Who is it, Fred?" Gunn asked demandingly, and the Texan girl just then noticed the recently arrived faces in the Hyperion's lounge â€" the young vampire hunter, Wesley and Angel.  
  
"Angel, it's for you," Fred declared cautiously, almost shyly.  
  
Even knowing that Angel knew that his former girlfriend was probably on her way to Los Angeles, the brunette girl really didn't know how he would react to seeing the blonde Slayer once again after their last encounter, when she'd just come back to life and they'd met in a neutral location.  
  
Though Fred did know that anything related to Buffy, was already an utterly delicate subject.  
  
"Whoever it is, I'm not available," Angel snapped, winning a knowing glance from Wesley.  
  
"But I really think you should-" the brunette Texan fruitlessly tried to begin.  
  
"Fred, I must say that Angel's quite right. We should be concentrating on Cordelia and Xander right now â€" we, we do not have time for any other considerations at the moment," the English man completed his little speech, moving closer to Fred.  
  
"But-" once again, the Texan brunette's words were promptly interrupted with determined gazes from the trio, and Fred finally sighed in defeat.  
  
"Okay then," the young woman whispered in annoyance.  
  
~ Hello, Buffy? I'm so sorry, but I believe Angel's not here right now. Should I give him a message or-? ~ the brunette girl asked, in her best impersonation of a professional secretary.  
  
The dark-haired vampire practically flew to the phone, and snatched it from Fred's grasp.  
  
Fred and Gunn exchanged low chuckles and Wesley offered a weak grin, though the former Watcher's focus of attention wasn't currently on Angel's semi- clumsy dash to the telephone.  
  
Rather, he was more concerned about Buffy's reasons to call.  
  
Would it be more bad news?  
  
It had been what, three or four hours since he'd called Sunnydale? And, during all those unreal hours, every attempt on their part to locate either Cordelia or Xander had been just one dead end after another.  
  
Surreal uncertainty had unquestionably surrounded this whole night, and the Englishman honestly didn't know what to do anymore, but to simply wait.  
  
Wait for the best, wait for the worst, or simply wait to wake up and escape from this absurd and hallucinatory dream he'd possibly been having.  
  
After all â€" could it honestly be reality?  
  
Part of Wesley's mind didn't want to believe that, in fact, it could. Not knowing your enemy could be a suffocating, terrifying situation; but when your concept of an acceptable antagonist mutated into an actually familiar face, things actually got a lot worse.  
  
But there was another part of his mind that simply knew, no matter how hard Destiny would play with them, that the harsh possibility of such a thing would always be there. Following them in the dark with every new step, just waiting to make its enraged appearance and transform their lives a living hell once again.  
  
The Englishman's thoughts were promptly interrupted when Angel started to talk to the Slayer, and the former Watcher sighed heavily.  
  
They'd been sailing through dangerous territory, and that was an irrefutable fact which Wesley was simply sure of, much to his own consternation and apprehension.  
  
~ Buffy, ~ the dark-haired vampire greeted her, with his usual deadpan tone of voice.  
  
~ Angel, ~ the petite Slayer replied, with a futile attempt at sounding indifferent.  
  
The truth was, neither one of them knew exactly how they should react after such long time apart from each other's once-comforting presence. The moments they had passed together and fallen asleep in each other's arms as lovers were far, far in the past now.  
  
The love that had once been a precious and plentiful bounty, a dangerous bonfire of true fondness and burning passion, was now a painful and sad memory in a torturous game of what-ifs and unresolved possibilities for the unknown future ahead.  
  
And it was also fair to say that when Buffy had met with Angel after her resurrection, and told him about Spike's new situation with his chip â€" his becoming a practically legit member of the Scooby Gang â€" the former couple's latest dialogue hadn't exactly been a serene and mellow one.  
  
Buffy's dry words were just the perfect demonstration of the currently awkward ambience created, after their previously mutual trust and easily- found comfort in each other had been lost.  
  
~ We're in town already, we'll probably been arriving within the next half- hour, ~ the girl then said.  
  
~ Oh. Did you have a good trip? ~  
  
~ Yeah. ~  
  
~ Good. ~  
  
~ I think. ~  
  
~ Buffy? ~  
  
~ Yeah? ~  
  
~ This is ridiculous. ~  
  
The blonde Slayer sighed in amused defeat, and chuckled weakly. ~ I know. We're just that pathetic, aren't we? ~  
  
~ I'm afraid we are, ~ Angel replied, partially amused and partially nostalgic.  
  
Her voice took on a serious tone then. ~ Do you guys have any news? ~  
  
Angel knew exactly what she was asking about; but, despite all their continuous efforts, they'd not gotten even a vague clue about Xander and Cordelia's whereabouts.  
  
All he was able to say was a weak 'no', and the souled vamp then apologized immediately with an equally weak, ~ I'm sorry. ~  
  
Buffy knew that it wasn't his fault at all, but she didn't have the strength to tell him that at this moment. The whole situation was just too crazy, and to think straight was too great a challenge just then.  
  
~ Angel... I don't know what this is leading up to, but I think I'm afraid, ~ Buffy's voice took on a suddenly darkened tone.  
  
~ We'll find them, Buffy. We *will*, OK? ~ the vampire tried his best to sound confident, but it turned out to be a useless attempt â€" as his former girlfriend could easily detect his own unease.  
  
~ Giles found something, researching... you know, in those dusty old books of his. I think we found out about why Xander's acting so... ~ Buffy's sentence trailed off.  
  
~ Not him, ~ Angel completed softly.  
  
~ Yeah, not him, ~ the blonde Slayer acknowledged sadly, something that didn't pass unnoticed to her former boyfriend's ears.  
  
~ Are you OK? ~ his soft words questioned her carefully.  
  
There was a brief silence, and then Buffy's lightly amused retort came down the phone line. ~ That's a really dumb question, you know? ~  
  
~ I know, ~ Angel replied meekly.  
  
~ It's just that... he was going to marry Anya today, Angel. Sometimes I just don't understand why everything has to be so unjust, so hard... it's just not fair, ~ the Slayer finally blurted out words which were laced with great revulsion and, at the same time, abysmal sorrow.  
  
Angel had multiple answers to that statement â€" unfortunately, few of them were hopeful and embraced with uprightness and fairness.  
  
Life isn't fair? Angel thought to himself.  
  
Indeed it wasn't.  
  
It never would be either, and that was the greatest truth of all.  
  
And with that harsh reality, the eternal fight between good and evil could be almost unfeasible sometimes.  
  
Ambiguous shades of gray would always surround the light and the darkness with their bleak shadows, and the highest challenge wasn't the biggest enemy, or the worst prophecy.  
  
It was the fight against their own fears and weaknesses.  
  
In any case, it was something that Buffy had learned years ago, and Angel was aware that she knew it but was just too afraid to voice it aloud.  
  
~ Look, Buffy, why don't we talk when you get here? ~ he offered carefully.  
  
The blonde Slayer sighed thoughtfully. ~ Maybe. Yeah, that's a good idea. ~  
  
~ OK then, we'll talk, ~ Angel said.  
  
And then, a familiar British accent was noticed by his supernatural vampire hearing, instantly freezing every muscle of Angel's undead physique.  
  
The souled vampire was pretty much certain that if his body had actually been alive, his heart would have instantly stopped dead â€" as soon as his 249-year-old brain recognized a certain annoying British voice.  
  
~ Buffy? ~ Angel demanded, with an undeniable spark of dismay and horror in his suddenly rougher voice.  
  
~ Yeah? ~ the blonde girl replied with a faked innocence, as if she was a little child who'd gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar.  
  
Wesley's, Fred's and Gunn's attention were completely dragged onto their vampire friend's tensed features, and the trio could swear that he was preparing himself for the worst news ever.  
  
~ Was that voice the voice of who I think that voice was? ~ Angel asked timorously, even though he already knew the harrowing answer to that pointless question.  
  
"That's a lot of voices for a single sentence," Fred commented worriedly.  
  
Wesley just gazed knowingly at the Texan girl, as she sent him an equally fretful glance with her wide brown eyes.  
  
~ I, I can explain! We needed a driver! ~ Buffy offered nervously.  
  
~ You could have taken the bus! ~ Angel practically yelled at her.  
  
~ Yeah, 'cause time's really on our side right now, ~ she replied, with glimpses of annoyance and guilt.  
  
The dark-haired vampire then overheard Spike's voice asking Buffy if 'the big poof was complaining about him'. And that moment, he would have gladly staked Spike if he could have.  
  
But the blonde Slayer seemed to either not hear Spike or ignore him, 'cause no answer was made on her part and the bleached-hair vampire just muttered a 'bloody hell', or something similar, in the background.  
  
~ Giles could have driven you, ~ Angel pointed out, mental exhaustion making its abrupt way into his whole being and seeming to overtake all his strength to fight that subject any longer.  
  
~ He's English, ~ Buffy replied pointedly.  
  
~ What? ~ the puzzled vampire asked in confusion.  
  
~ You know, ~ Buffy began lamely, whispering so that her former Watcher wouldn't hear her. ~ English guys are all careful and everything, and we were kinda in a hurry... ~  
  
~ That doesn't make any sense! Spike's English too! ~ Angel exploded, an unusually craggy tone overtaking his voice.  
  
Buffy paused for an instant and continued apologetically, ~ We really should talk, Angel. Things have been different for a while, with Spike. If it's that serious, this thing with Xander, I don't want to regret not using all the assets we've got, and... I won't hesitate about trusting him to save my best friend. ~  
  
~ OK, ~ the vampire sighed in defeat. ~ We've got more important things on our plate right now, so we'll talk later then. ~  
  
***  
  
"Spike?" Fred shuddered nervously.  
  
"Who the hell's Spike?" Gunn demanded.  
  
"A nightmare, actually," Wesley sighed excruciatingly, staring intensely at Angel.  
  
"You mean, another one," the Texan girl replied fatiguedly, letting her petite body to fall onto a nearby chair.  
  
"Yeah, 'cause that's just what we're needing right now," Gunn whispered sarcastically, resting his back on a wall of the Hyperion's lounge.  
  
The dark-haired vampire returned the former Watcher's gaze, and stood up. "Well, it seems that Spike's... different now," Angel offered dazedly.  
  
"Once again, who the hell's Spike? And what's up with that name, anyway?" Gunn said, walking into the center of the room.  
  
Angel opened his mouth, but Wesley's prompt words interrupted him. "He's a Master vampire," the English guy's features became a shadowy version of themselves. "He's a pitiless killer, a relentless assassin, he's..."  
  
"Inoffensive," Angel completed in a timely manner.  
  
"Yes, inoffensive, a merciless murderer, and... what?" Wesley paused suddenly, gazing confusedly at Angel's dull expression.  
  
Gunn and Fred also exchanged a brief stare of utter confusion. "I don't know about you guys, but I think I'm lost," the brunette girl blurted out.  
  
"And he's my grandchilde too," Angel stated.  
  
"Now, I'm definitely lost," Fred acknowledged with a tense smile.  
  
Wesley briefly returned her smile with one of his own, but his attention was quickly diverted back to Angel again, a demanding expression settling onto the Englishman's features.  
  
"So... Pointy..." Gunn started, but was promptly corrected with regards to Spike's correct name in unison, by both Angel and Wesley.  
  
"Whatever. So, OK, he's a badass vampire, understood. Plan is, we'll kill him, he becomes dust. Ya know, same old routine procedure, right?" the young vampire hunter asked uncertainly, expecting someone to reassure him and confirm his words.  
  
He was due for a little disappointment, though.  
  
"Quite right," Wesley exclaimed.  
  
"No," Angel replied automatically.  
  
"No?" the ex-Watcher questioned skeptically.  
  
"This scene's becoming old," Fred sighed in puzzlement at her friends' insane discussion.  
  
"Yeah, man, this is like Darla all over again," Gunn stated blankly.  
  
"What? No, there's no Darla! It's a long story, but apparently Spike's now neutered with a chip in his brain, and he can't hurt human beings anymore," Angel tried to explain, but the unconvinced tone at his own words didn't convince them at all.  
  
"Really," Wesley snorted incredulously. "And it was all an evil conspiracy on the U.S. government's behalf as well, am I correct?"  
  
"Well, something like that," Angel whispered, and the former Watcher's eyes widened considerably.  
  
"I gotta tell ya, this is getting weirder and weirder," Gunn shivered strongly, and headed back to his spot on one of the Hyperion's lounge walls.  
  
The vampire tensely locked eyes with Wesley's. "Believe me, I was just as thrilled as you are when Buffy first told me."  
  
The former Watcher sighed tiredly, and started to viciously rub his temples in circular movements, trying futilely to get some relief from a marvelous upcoming headache. "Oh, well, I can imagine. But, good Lord, why didn't you tell us anything sooner?"  
  
"I don't know, there was always something more important to deal with, and... it's not like my meeting with Buffy is a subject I really want to talk about," Angel finished abruptly, quickly diverting his gaze from Wesley's one.  
  
"I see," Wesley rapidly stepped back, not wanting to push it any further.  
  
After all, he knew quite well how any topic in which Buffy Summers was involved would always turn out to be an utterly hazardous one to everyone's health.  
  
And there was a whole new world to analyze now, and Wesley was really hoping that the blonde Slayer's arrival wouldn't bring any other disastrous news.  
  
The truth was, their life was already full of them.  
  
First the thing with Cordelia and Xander, and now William the Bloody apparently couldn't even hurt a little five-year-old girl?  
  
Had he been dreaming, and the dream's chaotic scenario become one of Salvador Dali's surreal portraits? Or one of Rene Magritte's, perhaps?  
  
That would certainly explain a lot for Wesley's many-hours-dazed mind.  
  
"So... what are we gonna do now?" Fred asked tentatively, her fumbling voice easily showing her own agitation.  
  
"Call for pizza?" Gunn risked saying.  
  
Angel and Wesley gazed instantly at him, incredulous glances hanging on their uneasy faces.  
  
"Hey, I'm just kiddin', ya know," the young vampire hunter replied quickly, in a defensive tone.  
  
The truth was, Gunn really didn't wanna let his own nervousness become transparent to the others; and he wouldn't risk his butt making any other lame jokes, fearing a cruel and imminent death given his two friends' murderous glares.  
  
Fred smiled reassuringly at him, and Gunn did the same at the Texan girl's comfortable grin.  
  
At least they weren't all going crazy at the same time, or it really could mean a true Armageddon.  
  
At that exact instant, the strident noise of the ringing phone started to once again fill the Hyperion's lounge. The Fang Gang exchanged shocked stares for long seconds, till Wesley finally picked up the telephone.  
  
~ Hi, it's Kate here, ~ the female voice announced pointedly.  
  
~ Ms. Lockley, ~ Wesley replied loudly, so the others could know who he was talking with.  
  
The former cop's statement was prompt and direct. ~ Look, here's the deal: I have a situation. And I was wondering if you guys know one Alexander... hmm, lemme see, Harris. Alexander Harris. Do you know him, by any chance? ~  
  
Wesley felt a freezing cold passing freely through his shivering body and, strangely enough, no words were being capable of leaving his mouth right then; it didn't matter his continuous efforts to say something, his inner and stubborn confusion was winning the fight to stay silent.  
  
They were definitely in for more trouble.  
  
And, once again, Xander Harris's name was written all over it.  
  
***  
  
Review , review, review, review, review, review, review, review, review!  
  
Oh, can I say just one more thing?  
  
Review!  
  
Pleeease? 


	13. Damage Is Done

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work â€" I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me â€" please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
Xander felt his senses and reason slowly returning to his body, and painfully filling the memory blanks of the previous night's horrible events.  
  
Apparently, his constant prayers and pleas for everything that had happened to just be a bad dream hadn't exactly come true, because the room he was in didn't look like his apartment at all.  
  
And the waist, which he was softly embracing with his arms, was definitely not Anya's.  
  
Because he knew his fiancÃ©e's body too damn well, by this point of the game.  
  
Anya's waist was lanky and delicately shaped, and it had soft skin with a mellow fragrance of jasmine, along with some cute freckles along her slightly tanned back.  
  
But this one -  
  
Oh, shit...   
  
This one that his hands were resting on, was plainly not hers.  
  
And Anya would certainly not be too pleased to know that.  
  
Its shape clearly had more bends, and dangerous curves. This girl's skin had a slightly citric scent, remarkably different to his fiancÃ©e's jasmine aroma, and its muscles' rigidity were like a different kind of softness than Anya's smooth one, colored a milkier shade of white as well.  
  
And then Xander realized who this was. Panicked about it, actually.  
  
***  
  
January, 1999. Sunnydale, California  
  
A dark motel room, the weak moonlight and her shadow on his, a lithe female body molding itself all over his own.  
  
Her powerful essence, her strong and overtaking presence â€" a Slayer's unique ability to do such things, to his overworked male hormones...  
  
The fear, the excitement, the confusion, the danger, the sheer sexual heat this woman could generate...  
  
"I'll steer you around the curves..."  
  
***  
  
Spring, 2002: Los Angeles, California  
  
No doubt about it â€" this was Faith's body he was holding here.  
  
What? H-how the-?!   
  
Xander felt as if his mind was starting to scream at him, violent shouts and abrupt howls capable of waking up half of L.A. in a single second, if he'd voiced his outburst out loud.  
  
Anya. Mad. Very mad. Visions of what she'd do, upon learning about this...  
  
He. Was. A. Dead. Man.  
  
Xander immediately got his hands off of the brunette Slayer's waist, and his last minutes of straight thinking during the previous night finally reached his mind, inducing panic and frenzied effects on his psyche.  
  
Faith's sleepy voice instantly surprised the dark-haired time traveller. "Hey, stay on your side of the bed, would you?"  
  
The Slayer's body didn't move one inch from the sheets, and Xander stared in utter confusion at her sleeping figure for what seemed like entire centuries.  
  
"My side of the bed?" Xander confusedly blurted out.  
  
"C'mon, just gimme five more minutes," a groggy Faith whispered, not really acknowledging her bed-partner's identity, blessed sleep still dazing her conscious mind.  
  
"Uh, Faith, where the hell are we? And, what are we doing in bed *together*?!"  
  
The brunette girl finally stood up and sat on the bed, a brief yawn escaping from her mouth. She was still feeling a little hazy and slightly lost, from being woken up so suddenly like that.  
  
An impetuous urge came over her to immediately silence whoever'd had the unpleasant job of waking her up, without even considering her natural bad mood â€" as she was definitely not a morning person.  
  
But there was two things that actually made her forget that impulse, quicker than the blink of an eye.  
  
Firstly, Faith realized that this was the first time in a very long while that she wasn't waking up in jail and her tiny, suffocating cell. And the sunlight was actually once again fully greeting her with its warming presence, and not with the irritating deformed squares and rectangles which the goddamn cell's bars just *had* to always form on the floor.  
  
And, to be completely honest, she felt really good about that.  
  
But the second thing wasn't so nice, though it wasn't exactly bad either. It was just...  
  
Huh.   
  
Confusing.  
  
What the hell...   
  
Unanticipated.  
  
Damn!   
  
Unexpected, too.  
  
After all â€" what was she doing completely naked, in the same bed with a shirtless Xander Harris?  
  
What the hell had she *done* with him, this being a more appropriate question.  
  
Xander and Faith slowly gazed at each other, turning their heads to find the other's intensely scared and very wide stare at them; a brief moment of silence filling their thoughts with surprise, confusion and puzzlement.  
  
And then they both finally screamed out loud, as they clumsily fell out of their bed.  
  
***  
  
The hotel room was small, but strangely comfortable. Despite its cheap price, the accommodations weren't dirty or stuffy, and it didn't have soiled lipstick-covered cups from former patrons or unsanitary bed sheets either.  
  
Which was certainly to be expected from a place called 'Big Aunt Mona's Hotel', which had considerably large posters in the front lounge that proclaimed Friday's as the day which the hotel TV would be showing Jerry Springer reruns, no extra charge.  
  
Old bulls and catfights from crazy people working out their issues on national television? A priceless offering, to be sure.  
  
The room was divided into two smaller sections, and Faith and Xander were in one of them, silently drinking their mugs of coffee at that moment.  
  
Which the *lovely* Big Aunt Mona had personally brought to them, with that big, wide smile on her chubby face. And an odd white kitchen's apron with a smile-y face in the middle of it, right on top of her bellybutton, at precisely 9:00 a.m.  
  
Xander and Faith had been sitting in complete silence for quite a while, and the whole scene was starting to get either jocular, or just very sickening and tiring for them.  
  
When Faith diverted her gaze, Xander stared at her; and when she looked back at him, it was his turn to look away.  
  
And vice versa, several times over.  
  
They could have passed the entire day with that foolish game; but, to both Xander's and Faith's happiness and relief, the ex-construction worker decided to screw formality and talk first.  
  
Break the queer silence that had been created since they'd babbled incoherently, and the former Zeppo and the Slayer had both fallen from the bed, until Big Aunt Mona had brought them coffee and biscuits.  
  
"We, uh, we didn't really do it, did we?" Xander asked nervously, promptly averting his gaze from Faith's.  
  
"Nah... no, I'd have remembered. I mean, I know I'd..." the brunette Slayer replied, though her obvious uncertainty only made Xander's own insecurity increase exponentially.  
  
Xander and Faith sighed heavily at the exact same time, and exchanged a brief chuckle. But then they quickly remembered their current odd situation, and promptly silenced themselves again.  
  
And then, the brunette Slayer started to feel something really *odd* going on inside of her body.  
  
It felt like if she had just come out of a three-day drunken bender, and a really huge one at that.  
  
It was as if her mind was suddenly going at a thousand miles an hour, and the world was rapidly spinning around her â€" a dizzying sensation, to be sure.  
  
Maybe it was the added energy from the coffee, or maybe it was her getting out of that previous groggy state that officially came with being a non- morning person.  
  
But, quick as a flash, Faith's memory suddenly started to recall everything. And the brunette girl lowered her mug and didn't take the next bite of her cookie, that was left hanging in the air with her raised hand close to her mouth.  
  
"Faith?" Xander insecurely questioned the girl's sudden twisted features.  
  
But Faith stayed silent, gazing intensely at Xander. His eyes were once again focused on the brunette woman as he said, "Oh no â€" we did it, didn't we?"  
  
"Well..." Faith began, not really knowing how to follow on from her own words.  
  
"Well what?" the dark-haired young man replied, his rushed words almost impossible to follow, and the sound suddenly seemed very amusing to the Slayer.  
  
Wellwhat, wellwhat, wellwhat.  
  
Man, am I definitely needing to cut back on the coffee, the brunette rebuked herself, and her confused thoughts.  
  
After all, she was finding Xander's 'wellwhat' amusing, for God's sake.  
  
"Well," Faith paused, sighing dramatically. "We didn't really *do* it, ya know? Not exactly, anyway," the Slayer added gingerly, looking around the room as if she was purposefully trying to divert her eyes away from his.  
  
Xander raised his eyebrows with a certain spark of unease and consternation, and his words were direct and prompt, though they were spoken somehow calmly and pointedly. "Okay Faith, so what the hell's your precise definition of 'not exactly'?"  
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry you're upset, Xander! I mean, what if I'd gotten pregnant last night? Geez, it's not like you don't have an excuse â€" 'cause, you know, you were pretty out of it with all those drugs they gave you, remember? It happens to a lot of guys, really," Faith blurted out, suddenly sounding very serious.  
  
The young man's face twisted in sudden tension and chagrin, and Xander didn't know where to direct his gaze to avoid Faith's pitying glance at him.  
  
It was a merciful one too, as if she was offering a sympathizing look at him. Even though Xander was simply unsure if this was what he was actually seeing at that moment.  
  
Alexander Lavelle Harris would have been damn well glad if he'd never been born, at that exact interminable moment of silence.  
  
These thoughts were becoming more and more amusing, much to the Slayer's entertainment, and finally Faith wasn't able to hold it in anymore and burst out in unexpected gale of laughter.  
  
Xander promptly sent a murderous look at the laughing brunette girl. "Oh, you bitca! Do you have any idea what *that* can do to a man? I almost bought your little song 'n dance act, ya know?!"  
  
"Hey, don't be so mad, boy toy... it was worth it, believe me, the look on your face was pretty much priceless," Faith grinned, bitingly.  
  
"And," she added with an evil smirk, "a girl needs to have her fun, sometimes."  
  
Xander could have been immensely and monstrously mad at her, at that exact moment.  
  
But seeing the rough Slayer laughing so freely and with no apparent hatred for him *and* herself, which was the most important thing after all, that was just something that didn't allow him to actually stay upset for any length of time.  
  
"You knew we didn't do anything the whole time, and you just wanted to see me suffer, didn't you?" Xander snorted suspiciously.  
  
"Ha, but no. It sorta popped into my mind right now, just like that," the brunette Slayer made a gesture with her hand, snapping her fingers. "And personally, I'd blame the coffee for that."  
  
"OK, fair's fair. But what the hell happened, anyway?" Xander asked, obviously trying to push the subject and get as detailed an explanation as possible.  
  
'Cause then, when the time came, he'd be able to give an acceptable account to Anya about the why's and wherefore's of the previous night's happenings.  
  
Hopefully.  
  
Xander sighed. He just hoped he could actually have a future, with his fiancÃ©e.  
  
Faith finally finished off her cookie, and took a large gulp of black coffee with milk. It wasn't the fanciest breakfast, or a five star hotel's finest food, but it was surprisingly appetizing, actually.  
  
"OK, stud, here's what happened..."  
  
***  
  
[The previous night]  
  
"C'mon, Xand, just lemme take your shirt off here, okay? God, what the hell did those bastards give you at that hospital, anyway?"  
  
Xander muttered something Faith didn't quite understand, and the Slayer's features bent into a funny expression.  
  
The brunette girl had at least succeeded in taking Xander's jacket off so far â€" and, despite her natural Slayer strength, that'd been a hard job to be sure.  
  
The young man's body was like totally reluctant to cooperate with her, and an unexpected flying arm just *had* to slap her shoulders, back and face every goddamn time she wasn't looking.  
  
And then, suddenly, Faith blushed as a realization crossed her mind.  
  
Perhaps too many nights in a women's prison were the explanation for her thoughts, when Xander's well-built naked chest finally showed itself.  
  
There had been many long, bleak and suffocating evenings when the brunette Slayer had had no chance to... release some stress, one could say.  
  
That is, if she wasn't willing to start playing for the other team, so to speak â€" as had many in the crowd of female inmates that, just like her, found themselves needing to search for any source of comfort in their abhorrent situations.  
  
Or when Daniel, a cute, twenty-something guard wasn't on duty for the night shift. Which actually had gradually become more and more rare, till it'd ended completely.  
  
For the brown-haired man had started patrolling L.A.'s streets, doing what the older cops apparently liked to call 'the real job' â€" after what, five secret meetings with her?  
  
Maybe it had been more â€" perhaps six, or seven such encounters â€" but certainly not enough for Faith's liking.  
  
And also, maybe it was the entire craziness that her life appeared to be currently going through, what with the prophecy about Angel's coming downfall and the mixed feelings about that which were ascending inside of her.  
  
What the hell, maybe it was the complete sense of confusion â€" the lack of certainty inside her about her mission; nothing other than the absence of the purest primal Slayer sense of duty and rightness.  
  
Faith had to kill Angel.  
  
Kill. Angel.  
  
The man who'd saved her soul. The vampire she'd tried to stake more than once, and even begged to kill her.  
  
It didn't matter how many times she'd kept that play rolling around inside her head, it still didn't sound real or believable.  
  
Or maybe it did, in fact. And Faith didn't like that at all.  
  
Was it denial? Fury? Plain cowardice?  
  
Fear? But from what?  
  
Her feelings?  
  
Herself?  
  
A hopeless world, that existed now only in her memories?  
  
Well, how the hell should she know? Nobody had exactly given her time to think about any of this. It was just crazy â€" because there was simply no other road to be taken. Period.  
  
That's my biggest test, Faith thought. And my failure'll mean the world's downfall.   
  
Fair much? And who cared?  
  
Angel. Going bad. Having to kill him.  
  
Wait a goddamn minute here. Didn't he save my life? Save me from myself?   
  
She remembered the words before coming back from the future, "Uh-uh. No questions, Slayer. He's gonna go Bad. Ain't no one can stop it. Kill him."  
  
But-   
  
"No. No 'but'. World's ashes if there's a but. And it'll be all your fault. Yours and Harris's. Don't think. Just do it."  
  
And then, that was it. It wasn't as if this was anyone's fault, really. Of course she wanted to find that anyone, and hate him with every fiber of her body.  
  
Faith had wanted to scream, to punch the bastard who'd sent her to kill a good man like Angel, to slay him and tell herself that his horse hockey couldn't be true.  
  
Despite all the horrors that she'd heard were happening, outside the prison.  
  
It couldn't be true. She wouldn't let it be true.  
  
"Who the hell do you think you are, you asshole? We're talking about Angel, he's the good guy! He's the hero!"  
  
But no answer had been forthcoming â€" because there'd been no concrete enemy this time, no ugly demons, or sharp weapons and spells, just a declining and conceptual ramp of savagery and abstract thought.  
  
Perhaps it had been all those topics together, mixed up in a big, messy soup of confused feelings and dazed thoughts â€" but that it had made Xander Harris a target for her hormones at that crazed, practically unreal moment, that was just undeniably true.  
  
Oh boy, and how. Definitely. And it would have turned out to be the one acceptable truth for the Slayer's utterly stressed mind to cling to, at that instant.  
  
Because after all that time in prison, Faith was sure that this time around â€" she'd damn well make it last longer than 7 minutes.  
  
But then she, Faith the vampire Slayer, Queen of Bitchiness, a founding member of the 'I don't give a damn' club, had actually blushed â€" very much to her own bafflement, to be sure.  
  
Because it was zipper time.  
  
"Xand, I could use a little help now, 'kay? Stay still, and be a good boy..."  
  
Her voice was shy and low, and Faith immediately rebuked herself mentally. Oh, spare me, Faith! He isn't even aware of what's going on around him, for God's sake!   
  
Xander groggily moaned something impossible for the brunette Slayer to understand, and the girl laughed nervously, her cranky and unsure voice tensely filling the previous stillness in the silent atmosphere of the room.  
  
Not getting anywhere, the beautiful brunette sighed. Heavily. "Okay, what the hell â€" I need you to work with me here, alright? We'll just move your hand to the zipper..."  
  
Belligerently, in a sudden movement, Xander's arm flew out and hit Faith straight on the bellybutton. "Hey!" she blurted out defensively and dropped him onto the bed.  
  
But when the Slayer turned to face the dark-haired boy again, a shirtless Xander Harris was sleeping peacefully, jeans still on and a peaceful gaze staring into Faith's face.  
  
Oh, crap, she thought, tautly. That's like he's unconsciously getting revenge on me or something, and he's just loving it!   
  
Faith finally decided that the young man wouldn't die if he slept one day with his pants on, and simply gave up trying to undress him.  
  
She took off all her clothes and searched for the little motel room's wardrobe, but found nothing. Cursing in frustration and tiredness, the brunette girl looked around once again and ultimately stopped her search, convinced that she would have to sleep with her jeans and top on after all.  
  
Which was great, as once she started running like a crazy â€" or a fugitive, which in fact she was â€" she certainly wouldn't leave sweaty, smelly clothes behind afterwards.  
  
And, what just made everything so much better and pleasant â€" this crappy little motel room didn't even have a bathtub or a shower.  
  
I'm sure that a girl who's literally stinking would turn any man on! Faith snarled sarcastically, remembering her previous lusty thoughts about Xander â€" and actually letting a small smile appear on her lips, wondering about the scene with a certain dose of amusement.  
  
The state of the two of them â€" and this, their first encounter, after years without even seeing each other's faces.  
  
Their lives, and how they'd changed were at the very least comical â€" a groggy, sedated and diagnosed mental patient, and a sweating prison escapee.  
  
Which was a result of running from the cops and hospital security, with clothes that were actually stolen from an teenager's abandoned closet and about two sizes too small for her.  
  
Guess not *everything's* changed, after all, Faith concluded, looking in the direction of the dark pants, tight top and leather jacket and boots. They looked just like something that her former self would have worn, at any hour of the day.  
  
Standing at the middle of the motel room, as naked as the day she was born â€" no way in Hell had she kept her jail underwear, or stolen a stranger's either â€" Faith sent one more look at Xander's sleeping persona, and chuckled.  
  
Like that, with his jeans on and some dark locks of hair falling clumsily across his face, Xander had an almost angelic appearance; something natural, in a person who's caught in deep slumber's peace and stillness.  
  
It didn't even seem like what they'd lived through during those previous frantic hours was actually real, what with the whole craziness of that situation with Angel and its consequences in both of their lives.  
  
And with him ending up in a shrink's office at St. Matthew's, accused of causing Cordelia Chase's injuries, Faith pretty much guessed Xander's life wasn't exactly being a blissful one either.  
  
The brunette girl released a brief yawn and her vision started to blur, already diverted from the young man â€" along with her thoughts, too.  
  
Rapidly, weariness and fatigue seemed to be reaching her mind with an almost impossible speed. And, before her brain could even register it, her body fell down on the bed for support and the sensation of delight was practically priceless.  
  
Damn, but I could stay in this exact same position for the rest of my life...   
  
Every part of her tired physique seemed to match perfectly with the fluffy texture of the pillow, and the sheet's softness made her feel as if she was in Heaven.  
  
And at that instant of comfort where her exhausted body found rest, Faith even thought that she was, ipso facto, finally in Heaven.  
  
Just five minutes, Faith thought, while her petite body was finding an incredibly comfortable position on the bed, next to Xander's. Just five minutes of rest...   
  
And the next thing she knew, there was nothing left but the intriguing world of unconscious and turbulent dreams, that the vicious and marvelous sensation of sleeping was bringing to her.  
  
***  
  
The next day  
  
"That's what happened?" Xander asked, still seeming a little uncertain about it all.  
  
"No. Truth is, aliens forced us into having wild animal sex all night, for their version of 'Candid Camera'," Faith replied, with an indistinct hint of irony.  
  
The former Zeppo stared at her blankly and the Slayer sighed, letting her hand fall through the empty air along with her mug of coffee. "Of course that's what happened! What, like it's not enough for you?"  
  
Faith automatically regretted having said that, but it was too late by then. She could only hope that it didn't sound as bad to Xander's ears as it did to hers.  
  
"No, o-of course it's enough for me! I, I wouldn't want anything else, I mean, with you. That's 100% enough."  
  
Faith raised an eyebrow. "Really?"  
  
"Yeah! I mean God, you're certainly a beautiful woman, and you were my first..."  
  
Faith smirked at that.  
  
"That's not what I meant, but, it-it wouldn't be right, ya know? I-I, if I wasn't me, I mean if I wasn't engaged, I'd probably have gone for it, but that's..." the young man babbled incoherently, and the brunette's amusement only increased.  
  
"You would have gone for it? With little old me?" she asked in a sultry voice.  
  
"Hey, knock it off!"  
  
"What?" Faith replied, with a faked innocence.  
  
"You know what I'm talking about. You're doing this on purpose! Like that... business from earlier. When you told me we had... you know, danced the mattress mambo or whatever."  
  
"Mattress mambo?"  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case," Xander retorted, and Faith finally gave up.  
  
"OK, so maybe I was trying to have some fun. No big," she said, taking a large gulp of coffee.  
  
They locked eyes for a brief instant, and started to grin at each other in silence. The young man then said, "So you've been sent back to kill Angel too, huh? Tough job they've loaded us with."  
  
Faith promptly choked on her biscuit and gazed at Xander, who was simply taking another bite from his sandwich. As if he had just passed some banal comment on the weather, or the latest episode of 'Survivor'.  
  
"And you're completely cool with that?" she replied, her incredulity barely hidden.  
  
"Faith," Xander began, as his voice took a darker tone. Looking straight into her eyes, so that the brunette Slayer had to bite her tongue not to yelp in consternation.  
  
Those eyes... they were like an abyss of haunted anger and bottomless woe.  
  
And that was like nothing she'd ever seen inside Xander Harris before.  
  
"I'm not exactly willing to do it, but somebody's got to, right? And since there wasn't anyone better left alive in the future to do the job, the luck's all ours. Or rather, mine."  
  
Faith started to say, something, but Xander interrupted. "Now, I'm pretty sure that killing Deadboy will be the hardest thing I'll ever have to do in my entire life; and, what the hell, it'll probably be the last one too..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Bottom line is even if I manage to get out of this alive, I know I'll lose my old life â€" as well as my friends, and probably Anya along with it. So I quite honestly don't see any great difference between living and dying, after Angel's dust here."  
  
Faith's mouth tried to say something, anything â€" but the brunette girl was completely silent. She couldn't even think of something to say at that moment, as her mind seemed to suddenly draw a complete blank.  
  
Her confused web of contradictory feelings, her recognition and identification with Xander's sorrow â€" all of that was visible on her face, without the need of any words to say it out loud.  
  
"Look, Faith, my life's been pretty much a living hell for weeks, and I think you know as well as I do that there's nothing else left to do now â€" that things won't get any better. Prophecy's a bitch, huh?"  
  
"Xander..."  
  
"Lemme finish. Saying that there isn't a single moment where I wished I was just dreaming the whole goddamn thing, that Overbite was just a creepy, distant memory from the past and Deadboy can just brood or do whatever he does nowadays â€" now, that would be an understatement. But if there's one thing I've learned ever since he lost his soul, it's that there's no point in closing your eyes and trying to wish your problems away."  
  
"But killing him for something he hasn't even done yet?"  
  
Xander shrugged. "That's my so-called mission now, and I'm sure your story is as much of a soap opera as mine, but it's what we gotta do. 'Cause I don't wanna have to stake Anya again in a few months, after he turns her..."  
  
Faith stared at him intently, though she was shaking real hard inside. The truth was, that the brunette Slayer was scared.  
  
The girl just knew that it didn't matter what he'd say next, 'cause she already knew what she had to do. And that was precisely what scared her the most, and made her wanna scream at the top of her lungs.  
  
"There won't be one freaking single minute in which I'll be rid of the guilt, his face'll haunt me forever â€" but I'm gonna do it, Faith. I'm gonna kill him and I'll need your help," Xander paused for the first time, looking down at the table and averting his eyes from Faith's.  
  
"I just wish there was some other way, any way, to let you out of this, but I know I can't risk it. I'm sorry..."  
  
A minute of silence reigned, until Faith finally spoke. Calmly too, to her own surprise. "Xander, call me when you want to get some helpless girl to wake up Angel's lust for blood, would ya?"  
  
The dark-haired young man looked at her in confusion, and it was his turn to be silent now.  
  
"Geez, it's not like this is your fault in the first place! We were *both* chosen for this, and I know how it's like to be in your shoes, just like you know how it's like to be in mine. You don't need to feel sorry for me, Xandman."  
  
"But-"  
  
"This time, you let me finish! We're the same, now â€" two people sent back on some insane mission, to save the world! That's how things are going to be for awhile, till we fix this whole stupid Angel situation. And â€" like it or not â€" I'm gonna have to stick with you till then, okay?"  
  
"I, I guess."  
  
They stood again in utter silence for several moments, the only noise heard being their intense breathing and the movement of the food and coffee in their mouths.  
  
"How did you know I was coming?" Faith suddenly asked.  
  
Xander turned his gaze back to the brunette's. "Huh?"  
  
"You know, you didn't question me being here â€" not even once. Aren't you at least curious? How did you know I came back from the future too, to stop Angel? How did you know that?"  
  
Faith's intense glance was questioning him, and so Xander returned her gaze and stopped eating his breakfast â€" which, at that point, was practically nothing but a small piece of sandwich and a sole gulp of coffee and milk in his mug.  
  
"I was told someone else would be coming," he replied pointedly.  
  
"You *knew* I'd be along for the ride? So why the hell didn't you wait for me? What, the plan was to call attention to yourself and get locked up as a freaking lunatic? And what about Cordelia? I mean, if I was coming, why'd ya bring Vision Girl into this?"  
  
Faith's explosion automatically made Xander get into a defensive position. "Hey, now wait a minute! I thought they'd given up on sending someone else, or they weren't able to, or something â€" I don't know! I waited for hours! And also, I didn't know it was gonna be you! Besides, even if I had known, what was I supposed to do? Huh? To wait and what, dance the macarena while letting them get to Angel first, by stopping us? Whoever the hell they are, anyway..."  
  
The brunette Slayer and the dark-haired young man then sighed loudly, in perfect unison.  
  
"I'm sure you'd be a kick-ass macarena dancer," Faith mumbled, as Xander sent another murderous glance at her.  
  
They locked eyes again for an instant, apparently neither of them knowing exactly what more could be said. The awkward silence didn't last much longer, though.  
  
"I know I was stupid for bringing Cordelia into this mess, but at the time I didn't exactly see any another alternative. It was stupid, and God knows *I* know that too. I almost got her dead, and when Cordy next saw me she started to scream her head off, saying I had actually tried to kill her..."  
  
For one ephemeral moment, Faith thought she'd seen Xander's eyes fill with unshed tears. He never cried a single drop, though. But his haunted eyes were pretty obvious to her.  
  
"She kept screaming that, over and over... and over and over... ah, shit!" Xander suddenly exploded, finding it hard to control his feelings anymore.  
  
The shocked Slayer almost jumped out of her chair on account of the sudden outburst, but that didn't seem to get Xander's attention for a second.  
  
"Damn it! This is so not right!" the young man kept murmuring, again and again. "This is just so not right! This isn't goddamn fair or anything!"  
  
"Hey," Faith offered, putting her hand on his shoulder. "It's OK, that's always been a crazy situation with you two anyway. But I'm gonna need you focused, alright? I'm here with ya, Xandman, but I can't do this by myself..."  
  
Once again, silence and its utter placidity overtook the scene.  
  
"I'm sorry for bringing Cordelia into this. It was a low blow," Faith finally said, looking a little ashamed.  
  
Xander raised his eyes at hers. "Nah. We're all screwed up, after all."  
  
"Right," the Slayer announced, raising her mug and what was left inside, which was a little bit of milky coffee. "Three cheers for our being screwed up, then."  
  
Xander looked at her confused at first, but then raised his mug as well. "To being screwed up, then..."  
  
The noise of the mugs being pushed against each other was heard, and the two young people caught out of time shared a look of complicity.  
  
The truth was, they didn't really want to persist in pursuing any of their painful memories any longer. And Faith and Xander knew there'd be harder times ahead where they'd not be able to handle it and explode at each other, but that they'd deal with it then.  
  
They also had to leave the safe haven of this hotel room soon.  
  
After all, there was still a mission to fulfil and a world to be saved.  
  
They exchanged one last look at each other and turned their attention back to their coffees, which miraculously hadn't gotten cold yet.  
  
And when Faith brought her mug to her mouth, hot liquid accidentally splashed along her chin and she yelped in sudden pain, automatically bringing her empty hand to her skin and rubbing it. "Damn!"  
  
Xander promptly searched for something to help her clean herself up, but found nothing. He then took out of his jacket the first thing he'd remembered he had and offered it to Faith, who could only raise a skeptical eyebrow in return.  
  
"Uh, Xand, thanks, really â€" but I don't think a used tissue will be a lot of help, y'know? And, gross! God, don't you know what a napkin's like? You know, a white square made of thin paper..."  
  
The young woman was getting out of her chair to make her way to the bathroom to wash her face and get rid of the remaining vestiges of coffee and milk, when something caught her attention.  
  
Xander was looking at the handkerchief he had just offered to Faith moments ago. And the brunette Slayer saw his features change suddenly, becoming a darkened shadow of their previous selves â€" which automatically made her innards shiver strongly.  
  
"What is it, Xander?"  
  
When the brunette girl didn't get an answer, she felt her blood freezing in her veins. And, despite her nervousness, Faith managed to snap herself out of her little fugue and grab the item out of Xander's hand.  
  
There was red blood on it, along with the dried blood that she was now recognizing as the supposed stain she'd thought it was earlier, from a leaky pen or something similar. She'd thought it was anything but blood, actually.  
  
Xander instinctively took off his jacket, and a darker spot was staining his T-shirt's usual black coloration.  
  
Raising the T-shirt to chest height, red blood seemed to paint his skin in its captivating and at the same time horrifying color, making Faith recoil in sudden shock.  
  
"You're wounded," the Slayer stated absent-mindedly.  
  
All at once, her mind was screaming at her so loud that the fact that she'd managed to speak was already almost a miracle.  
  
Faith didn't know why this was reaching her heart and making it twist so painfully, but the fact that it was happening was enough to make the Slayer realize this unanticipated ache and, then, understand it.  
  
The thing was, Xander and herself weren't exactly best buddies when she'd gone to jail, and they hadn't been best friends at any other time either.  
  
As far as Faith was concerned, trying to kill your lover wasn't exactly something to fulfil the specific prerequisites of friendship, along with kicking him out of your motel room after sleeping with him just to unwind a little.  
  
Oh, well. These old-fashioned rules...   
  
OK, so apart from Angel maybe the guy did matter more to her than any other member of Buffy's little crew of freaks. And the brunette Slayer had even thought once that they'd had a hell of a lot in common â€" abusive parents, feelings of being the outsider and excess baggage within the Scooby gang...  
  
Not that they had shared this with anybody, of course. But a screw-up can easily recognize one of his own, even if he or she tries to hide it by making jokes and diverting attention away from their problems.  
  
Or going crazy and deciding it'd be fun joining forces with Evil, and fulfil secret fantasies after years of solitude and nobody really giving a damn about you.  
  
Both of them had wondered more than once, about what might have been if Xander had been able to get through to Faith that night â€" if she'd never gotten lost to the dark side of the Force...  
  
Would it have been her wearing Xander's engagement ring now, instead of Anya?  
  
In any case, the truth was that seeing him hurt had harmed Faith as well. It couldn't get simpler than that.  
  
Pain's a simple, direct topic for all people; it's the one thing that affects everybody as equal individuals in the end, in this material and superficial world of human beings.  
  
All its consequences are the real challenge; but its primal, savage attack doesn't select its victims by race, religion, sex or nationality.  
  
Rather, by their inner strength and power to stand up before it.  
  
And it didn't necessarily follow that the man who had it inside of him to powerfully battle against the odds, till his last drop of blood and never giving up for those who he loved, would turn out to be a winner against pain.  
  
"Lemme see," Faith offered without really expecting an answer, rapidly moving closer to Xander's chair and examining the wound. "How the hell did you get this? It wasn't bleeding last night, that's for sure. I'd have seen it..."  
  
Xander growled softly in pain, but just bit his lips to stifle a yell of pain while a sharp pang passed through his body.  
  
"Checking out the old Xandman's physique last night, eh?" he tried to smirk, but the pain was becoming too intense when it started to seem that just to pronounce a mere word would mean a lifetime of suffering and woe.  
  
"Dream on, pal," the brunette girl sighed sourly, but her features got a troubled expression then. "Man, that's just like so typical of you..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Getting into trouble. I mean, didn't you ever hear when you were a child to keep a mile away from a beehive?" Faith said, looking very serious. "Nobody should play with a beehive. It's evil."  
  
Despite his sudden pain, Xander chuckled in slight confusion. "You don't like bees, huh? I've gotta admit, you Slayers can be a real puzzle..."  
  
Faith shook her head promptly. "Nuh-uh. My problem's with the honey. Winnie the Pooh loved it, and *he's* evil," she shivered, as if a horrible image was going through her mind. "I don't trust him. Too sweet and cute, you've gotta keep an eye on that kinda thing."  
  
Xander just shook his head in amusement, even when the now-familiar feeling of pain still seemed to make his skin erupt into a blaze of aching flames.  
  
Faith's serious expression didn't change at any time, and the young man watched her hands delicately cleaning the wound with a towel courtesy of Big Aunt Mona's hotel, one that she had found in the nearby closet.  
  
"Where did you get these bruises?" Faith demanded. "And this wound here's lookin' wicked bad. You coulda died from a sudden hemorrhage or something, you know that?"  
  
The brunette Slayer's voice was sounding angry to Xander. He slowly got up off of his chair, searching for her shoulders to support himself.  
  
"It's nothing, Faith, really. I'm surprised it's bleeding this much, 'cause I hadn't felt anything till now, seriously! It's just a souvenir of some demon I've had the pleasant experience to bump into. Uh, demons actually. Plural," Xander snorted sarcastically, but the young woman didn't seem to have bought his lame story about his injuries.  
  
Faith was about to respond with an angry reply, but a knock on the door that made the entire structure of the old wooden edifice shake violently stopped her.  
  
The young couple exchanged a worried look â€" but before they could think of anything to say, the rough but over-the-top friendly voice of Big Aunt Mona was heard on the other side of the door, in the hotel's hallway.  
  
"Hey, kids! Listen up, your faces are all over the goddamn TV!"  
  
*** 


	14. Survival Of The Fittest

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work – I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me – please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
"Crap," was all that Faith was able to utter, as the too-well-known sensation of tiredness and, at the same time, agitation started to quickly consume her mind and body.  
  
The set in Big Aunt Mona's little TV room was displaying the latest news, with her and Xander's faces on the screen; as their escape from St. Matthew's had been taped by the security cameras of the hospital.  
  
The reporter babbled that the case was getting the highest priority from the L.A.P.D., and five nearby police precincts had been put on the highest level of alert.  
  
Faith was being labeled as an immensely dangerous fugitive, and now an accomplice for one Alexander Lavelle Harris.  
  
Xander, apparently, was being charged with the attempted murder of Cordelia Chase. And also as a matter of fact, the murder of one Lance Randolph, a beggar whose head had been ripped off of his body and found in a dark alley, along with his bloody torso.  
  
In that same dark alley, a couple of feet away from the fallen headless corpse, a picture of a brunette girl – Xander's supposed second victim – had been found by the cops.  
  
Apart from Cordelia, in the photo there were several other high school students, the accused himself being one of them. Survivors from the demolished school of Sunnydale High, as described by one of the witnesses at the location.  
  
Another photograph, with a group of young people and an older man – two girls that were in the other photo, and two different girls, and also a new teenager – had also been found, by the side of a bloodstained axe.  
  
With all three pieces of evidence, there was enough to put out an immediate warrant for Xander's arrest. And the recounting of the supposed homicide matched with some descriptions the cops had collected from witnesses, who had seen him near the murder site that very same night, a few hours earlier.  
  
The two time-travellers exchanged a troubled and confused look. Xander diverted his eyes away first, and automatically began to search for his pictures in his pocket.  
  
But he was surprised to discover that the two photographs he had brought with him were suddenly gone, without any trace or clue of their whereabouts for their mysterious disappearance.  
  
When he found nothing, Xander quickly panicked and his face assumed a confused look. Quickly seeing his consternation, Faith sent a questioning glance at him.  
  
"I didn't do it, I-I didn't..." the boy stammered.  
  
The brunette girl seemed slightly offended, but she didn't comment on it though. "I know you didn't. What, do you think I did?"  
  
"No," the young man replied, although a slight trace of uncertainty was easily found in his voice. "I'm sorry, I guess I just had to make sure, ya know? 'Cause I don't know what's what anymore, Faith. I, I never saw that man before in my life, I swear! And I didn't hurt Cor, I'd never hurt Cordelia..."  
  
"Xander," Faith gazed at him intensely. "It's OK, I know you didn't hurt little Queen C, or our headless pal too. You know what's happened, right? The bastards are now throwing everything they goddamn well have at us, so we'll just have to be stronger and smarter than them..."  
  
The dark-haired young man nodded slowly, and Faith realized that the bloodstained spot on his black T-shirt was increasing considerably. The Slayer supported his weight on her shoulders and said tersely, "Shit, we'll have to take you somewhere..."  
  
Xander tried to protest, but the pain quickly made him wail in pain. "We can't go to a hospital, they'll find us there!"  
  
"Can't risk it, boy toy. This is pure anti-five-by-five, you'll die, and I won't let that happen – I can't do this by myself, remember? Come on, I need you to work with me here, stud..."  
  
The hotel's chubby owner sighed amusedly, raising her hands and then letting them fall, her face a pure sneer.  
  
"Damn cops, they don't know what the heck they're talking about! Oh, well, screw 'em I say! Lemme say something kids, Big Aunt Mona ain't gonna turn you in to them, 'kay?"  
  
Faith and Xander turned slowly their attention to the woman, as they had forgotten her presence during the whole time in the TV room.  
  
"Creepy freaks," Big Aunt Mona exclaimed, adjusting the apron around her waist and throwing her recently smoked cigar into a nearby ashtray.  
  
The Slayer and the former Zeppo could only gaze at each other, nodding carefully. "Thanks," Xander said awkwardly. "Uh, I guess..."  
  
Aunt Mona smiled openly, laughing almost hysterically. "No big, kid, no big! Just pay me my rent, and I'll be your best friend!"  
  
The young man tried to walk to the door, but he then painfully started to collapse. Faith quickly came back to his side. "Hey, take it easy," she helped him, leaning Xander's back at the wall. "You're already pretty banged up, you don't wanna get any new injuries here, OK?"  
  
"What are we gonna do? We can't go out as regular people anymore, you know. Half the town is looking for our butts!" Xander exclaimed weakly, and the brunette girl's face blanked.  
  
"We'll find a way, no problemo," Faith said unconvincingly. "We, we just need to take you to a hospital, Xand. You won't last much longer without..."  
  
"I got some bandages and stuff. You can stay here as long as you need," Aunt Mona offered affirmatively, with a wide smile on her plump cheeks and ruby lips. "Just don't make too much noise if you guys are gonna get some, you know? Thin walls. Ah, the condoms are in the bedside table, by the way..."  
  
"We won't need them," Xander and Faith uttered nervously in unison, briefly exchanging an awkward and embarrassed gaze.  
  
"Right," the hotel's owner mused with a strong hint of sarcasm. "And I'll be the next Miss USA..."  
  
This time, the brunette and the young man didn't have time to blush, 'cause the television started to display another scoop on their case; one that seemed to instantly grab the attention of Big Aunt Mona.  
  
If the new Bonnie and Clyde were located, the reporter said, a generous reward of $500,000 was being offered to the citizen that helped inform the authorities of Faith and Xander's whereabouts.  
  
And, of course, that shiny feeling of patriotism called Dollar gave birth to the chubby woman's urge to do her righteous duty as an honorable citizen of the City of Angels.  
  
When Faith and Xander next turned their heads towards Big Aunt Mona, the previously friendly lady had an utterly huge rifle pointed right at their asses.  
  
"Sorry, punks. But Big Aunt Mona's got a very, very important meeting with George Washington," the suddenly-hostile smile from the hotel's owner lips greeted them, wry words and fingers promptly wandering around the gun's trigger.  
  
"Guess we'll have to pay for the cookies now, huh?" Xander's weakened voice mused dryly in full irony. But at this point, the dark-haired boy was feeling so weak he would have fainted, if Faith didn't have a secure grip on him.  
  
"Hang on," the Slayer whispered to him, and turned her glance to the woman with a rifle in her hands and a huge smile on her lips.  
  
"I knew it! Jesus Freaking Christ, but I knew my time was coming! Ha! $500,000!" Big Aunt Mona exclaimed happily, as she stared at the two young people that were still within her rifle's sights.  
  
Faith's voice called her back into focus. "I thought you were gonna help us?"  
  
Big Aunt Mona stopped laughing immediately, and her face suddenly took on a biting expression. "Life's a bitch, my dear. Gotta keep that in mind..."  
  
She pointed the gun at Faith's forehead. "If you don't learn how to survive, dollface, then this world will crush you faster than an itty bitty bug. That's Darwin, y'know? Survival of the fittest, the weak versus the strong – and I'm one of the latter. Ain't no higher power out there to help ya, honey. And now it's just you two, me and half a million freaking dollars!"  
  
Faith and Xander exchanged a knowing look, and the young man held his belly to try and control the bleeding, the gun still aimed at the Slayer's forehead.  
  
Aunt Mona continued her rant, "Don't you kids learn anything in school anymore? Oh crap, you little brats – I bet you skipped classes to smoke crack or something, eh?"  
  
Faith shot a quick look at Xander, who nodded painfully in as short a time as possible.  
  
The brunette's voice surprised the older woman, makings her eyes go wide at Faith's hard stare straight in her direction. "You know what, Mo? It's times like this I think I learned my lessons just damn fine!"  
  
And before Big Aunt Mona could blink, a Slayer-strength side kick blasted the rifle out of her hands and a hard punch slammed her in the solar plexus, which was enough to make her recoil against a corner in agony and pain.  
  
Xander supported his arm on the table. "Now what?"  
  
But the brunette Slayer was looking horrified at Big Aunt Mona's slumped figure in the corner of the room, several flashbacks and memories forcefully hitting her mind.  
  
All the pain, all the suffering, all the dread and horror in innocent people's eyes, caused exclusively and intentionally by her...  
  
The deception and hatred, the growing feeling of emptiness and loneliness aching inside of her, consuming her soul and briskly replacing her fear with savage rage...  
  
The vicious taste of Evil and its presumably easier road, the tricky temptation and provocation of hiding you from yourself, and from the world.  
  
After all, wasn't she nothing but trash? Her mother used to say it all the time. And wasn't she the reason why her father had left? Another constant remimder of her beloved mom, of course.  
  
What good could she bring to people?  
  
"Faith!" Xander's voice finally succeeded in snapping the brunette girl from her thoughts.  
  
"I, I hurt her. Just like I hurt the hospital guards... I swear, I didn't mean it! They're regular people, and I wasn't supposed to... I'm supposed to protect them, but I, I just had to, I swear-!"  
  
"Look, Faith," the young man managed to say, his bloody left hand holding his wound and his right grabbing the Slayer's arm, staining the brunette's skin with the vital fluid and making her turn and stare at him with panicking eyes.  
  
Xander continued, his voice cracking a little, "It's OK, you had to do it. But, listen, we gotta move out! Sergeant Rock, the rules of war and all that. You didn't do anything wrong, she didn't give us any other choice – get it? And, God owes us that much, right? We're on a mission, there's bigger things at stake... and like you said, I need you here with me."  
  
"Okay. Right. We're cool, then. So, so let's go," Faith's dry voice said, as the young woman suddenly unplugged Big Aunt Mona's telephone and smashed the receiver.  
  
She paused for several seconds, looking straight at one of the little TV room's walls. Faith then finally uttered, in a small and slightly enraged voice, "Let's just go."  
  
***  
  
Angel wasn't happy. Not at all.  
  
The dark-haired vampire didn't really know when things had started to go completely south, when the Hyperion's atmosphere had become so heavy and everybody's tension levels had been that full of apprehension and uncertainty.  
  
OK, so maybe that was a lie.  
  
As there had been this weird demon that had released an odd, creepy phlegm last week, and a couple of vampire lovers a few days ago had tried to conquer the world with poisoned candies for kids.  
  
Right, and also a gigantic brown-haired werewolf had kindly decided Los Angeles would be a wonderful and pleasant place to procreate its children...  
  
The truth was, that the list of reasons why things were tense in the Hyperion was interminable – and doubtless, it would keep growing every day.  
  
Well, the Fang Gang was always dealing with problems, that was pretty much an undeniable fact – but that night, that night everything seemed a thousand times worse than normal.  
  
Plus, the duality of it all.  
  
Angel, for the first time in a very long time, felt completely helpless in the face of the odd web of happenings that were coming together. Coming together in fact at full force, into that bizarre puzzle they'd all been living through during these last few hours.  
  
And to stand there, hearing Wesley's words about Kate Lockley's motivations to call after seeing the former Watcher's expression changed into a darkened parody of its previous self – that didn't increase his coolness factor at all.  
  
"What do you mean by Xander being labeled as the prime suspect, in an investigation about some homeless guy's death?"  
  
"For the last bloody time, Angel, it means Xander's being labeled as the prime suspect, in an investigation about some homeless guy 's death!" Wesley grunted, annoyed.  
  
As that was the third time Angel had asked the exact same question.  
  
"He's Ricky," Fred muttered more to herself than to anybody else, and the three men turned around to face her, tired and confused looks on their faces silently questioning her frowning features.  
  
"Ricky?" a baffled Gunn finally demanded, after an awkward moment of silence with him, Angel and Wesley just staring questioningly at the Texan girl.  
  
"Ricky," the brunette sighed in reply, as if she was talking about the most obvious thing in the world. "Rick Gloove, a boy who lived in Apartment 4B down the hall of our old apartment building in Texas. Mom used to be a friend of his mother, that woman made the best cookies ever," she whispered thoughtfully.  
  
"It was strange, because he used to be pretty much a normal guy – but then he just, bam, snapped! Woke up thinking he was Batman one day, and ended up in a mental institution. Poor Ricky," Fred finished up, whispering in sadness. "He was never lucky, anyway. You know what, the most ironic thing's that he always kept this weird medallion, saying it was his lucky charm..."  
  
The trio of men promptly exchanged suspicious glances.  
  
"Poor Ricky. He was unlucky, but kinda cute. We made out in a closet one day, you know," Fred kept on talking, completely oblivious to what was happening around her.  
  
And that was, Wesley, Gunn and Angel gazing at her with puzzled looks.  
  
"What?" the Texan girl demanded, finally noticing them. "Okay, okay, we just got stuck in there and he made fun of my dental braces. Happy now?" she blurted out, sounding slightly indignant.  
  
"Fred... you, you're talking about this Rick person, right? Could you perhaps describe to me this... lucky medallion of his?"  
  
At hearing Wesley's voice, the brunette Texan looked at him confusedly. "Uh, I guess. I mean, it was quite a long time ago, but I think it was a silver medallion. Yeah, silver, and with a weird symbol in its center. Creepy. Used to give me the chills..."  
  
Angel glanced at the Englishman with a worried expression, "Sounds familiar?"  
  
The former Watcher sighed in alarm and trepidation. "I hope not, Angel. I really do."  
  
***  
  
Hey! Jane again!  
  
I know this is a short chapter, shorter than usual - and, also, I didn't really like this, but - oh well. Sue me. I just sent it.  
  
And, please, review! I love your kind reviews - I'll send you all big thanks for them.  
  
Go and check 'A Faithless Rhapsody' too, my second fic - deals with X/B friendship, and it's from Buffy's POV.  
  
So, that's it - I'll let you with the famous three letters... TBC 


	15. You Bet Your Life

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work â€" I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me â€" please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
Faith opened the BMW's door, and a quivering Xander managed to pull himself out of the brunette's supportive embrace.  
  
Awkwardly falling into the back seat of the car, previously stolen from St. Matthew's psychiatrist Dr. Robert Grissom, Xander could do no more than groan painfully.  
  
"Hang on, boy toy, I'm getting us out of here," the Slayer said, sighing and getting behind the wheel. "Everything's gonna work out, just hang on a little while longer," she whispered unconvincingly, while making the expensive car's engine snarl in an animalistic roar.  
  
Xander would have most likely freaked out at her obviously uncertain tone, if the sounds and images surrounding him hadn't start to fade away so suddenly and abruptly.  
  
As darkness covered his awareness and a thick curtain of red blood soaked his cold chest and stained his black T-shirt slowly but furiously, the young man thought this could really mean the end of line for him.  
  
That he would die, and fail everyone.  
  
Again.  
  
And he'd have screamed out loud at the top of his lungs, if the temptation of falling into oblivion and relaxing into a quiet state of unconsciousness didn't sound so appealing to him right at that moment.  
  
Xander knew he had to be strong, but it seemed that any strength he had left was rapidly leaving his body, heart, and soul.  
  
He just needed to rest... maybe, or so the former Zeppo hoped, maybe he'd finally wake up from this creepy nightmare. Maybe...  
  
"Oh, crap," Faith cursed, as the brunette beauty took a quick look over her shoulder and discovered that Xander had fallen unconscious.  
  
"C'mon, God, I know you and me aren't exactly best buds nowadays, but if you help me to get out of this one I swear I'll start to pray every night, and I won't say any dirty words for an entire freaking week!" the female time-traveller pleaded.  
  
Just then the BMW spun madly at an ungraceful angle, making the Slayer lose control for brief moments before recovering it back, and barely avoiding a collision with another car passing by.  
  
"Shit, shit, shit!" Faith snarled wildly, raising her voice louder at each colorful word.  
  
Oookay, I owe you one, Big Guy, the brunette grunted to herself, with a hint of sarcasm in her thoughts. But still, I could really, really use a little help now...   
  
"Let's go people, move your asses! I gotta git, now move!" she gestured wildly to some nearby pedestrians.  
  
And said people took less than a second to get out of the way of the out-of- control vehicle, as soon as their dazed minds registered the imminent danger suddenly roaring along the sidewalk.  
  
Faith quickly managed to take one more look at the unconscious Xander, worry clear on her pale face. Right, serious now. Ten Our Fathers, two days a week without any dirty words and that's it!   
  
As the noisy and irritating sound of loud sirens started to echo maniacally in the young woman's ears, Faith stomped down even harder on the pedal. The silver automobile's speed then increased considerably, leaving behind an obscene amount of smoke that quickly faded into the thick smog of L.A.'s early afternoon.  
  
The Slayer could only hope someone up there was actually hearing her pleas and prayers.  
  
If not... that was something Faith couldn't even start to consider.  
  
Simply because that it could mean the end of her and Xander, and the rest of the world as well.  
  
***  
  
"She's out of danger, you know," a soft voice announced, as Kelly Marshall turned to discover its owner.  
  
Finding Carla Bradshaw's juvenile face, Kelly was only able to sigh at hearing the young nurse, who was a co-worker and friend. In fact the short redhead had been her best friend for as long as she could remember, ever since her very first day at St. Matthew's.  
  
"I know," the curly-haired nurse finally responded, with the same meek tone. "I just don't wanna go now."  
  
"Maybe it's better if you go home, you know? Seriously. Your shift's like, already over, and, honestly, you look like hell," Carla chuckled conversationally, hoping Kelly would actually hear her.  
  
Forgetting, even if for the briefest instant, the natural stubbornness of the blonde nurse the redhead had gotten to know so well.  
  
And knowing that when Kelly got attached to the occasional patient, there'd not be a single soul capable of convincing her not to extend her shift time or whatever it took to stay at their side, waiting for them to wake up and supporting them as far as the blonde was able to.  
  
But now the problem is, Carla considered, the person Kelly's really attached to isn't in the hospital anymore.   
  
Unfortunately Ms. Cordelia Chase had become the focus of Kelly's obsession, once the true target of her preoccupation had flown the coop with that other brunette girl, Faith Adams, into the darkness of the night.  
  
"Geez, thanks Car," the curly-haired blonde grinned, sending a sarcastic but light-hearted glance at the redheaded nurse. "Guess I don't need a mirror to destroy the old self-stem, I've got you for the job."  
  
"You can bet on that, girl. 'Cause right now, either you take a bath or you'll have to find someplace elsewhere to sleep â€" I don't wanna be near a stinky nurse who's spent the last 36 hours on shift."  
  
Kelly raised an eyebrow at her, and Carla just smirked evilly. "But I'm sure Dr. Penn wouldn't mind that much, making a place in his bed for you..."  
  
"You're evil," the curly-haired young woman stated simply, sending her roommate a murderous glance.  
  
Anyway, Kelly finally gave up. "Yeah, maybe you're right. And that's almost a miracle," it was her turn to smirk, and Carla's to sent the murderous gaze. "I really should go home. I'm kinda tired, too. Dr. Lewis is a real pain in the ass, and she just didn't stop bitching at me the whole day."  
  
"I already called her friends," Carla informed the blonde, suddenly serious, and Kelly looked at her with a curious expression. "Ms. Chase, I mean. I don't know why someone didn't do it immediately last night, but they're coming now."  
  
"Maybe it's because the hospital pretty much became a three-ring circus, after Xander and that other girl managed to escape," Marshall mused out loud, and the redhead nodded thoughtfully.  
  
Kelly sent one last gaze at the sleeping form of the brunette girl lying in the hospital bed, and sighed before leaving the room.  
  
What have you done, Xander Harris? the nurse thought, as a strong shiver rocked her to the core. And where the hell are you?   
  
***  
  
[Somewhere in a land of dreams, where nothing is as what it seems]  
  
"Isn't that place supposed to be just a pile of rubble, and a lot of bad memories?" Xander Harris asked, as Cordelia Chase looked up and nodded slowly.  
  
"You noticed that too, huh?" Cordy replied, taking another look at the amazingly reconstructed structure of the bombed-out Sunnydale High School.  
  
"Kinda hard not to. That place pretty much used to be my biggest nightmare, I kid you not. That freaky gym teacher still makes me shiver. Of course, I'll always have pleasant memories of one special place," the dark-haired young man grinned, as the seer's face twisted into a frown.  
  
"What place?" Cordelia asked, a curious look in her face.  
  
Xander's smirk grew even wider. "The utility closet."  
  
The beautiful brunette woman rolled her eyes, but she couldn't prevent a smile appearing on her generous lips. "You're still so... you."  
  
"Well, thanks," Xander snorted sarcastically. "But I got the hint that that wasn't exactly a compliment."  
  
Now, it was Cordelia's turn to grin wildly. "Oh, it took you that long to figure it out, Einstein?"  
  
"Tramp."  
  
"Loo-ser!" Cordelia replied in a singsong tone, and Xander was the one who rolled his eyes this time.  
  
"Whaddaya think about maturing a little? Some people would say it sounds like a good idea, you know," the dark-haired time-traveller retorted, his voice full of irony.  
  
"Well, well, well," the brunette purred. "Ladies and gentlemen, there's no illusions or tricks here... the King of Cretins is actually talking about mature, rational behavior! This was a TV show, I think we could even beat 'Friends', what do you think? The ratings would go through the roof. After all, something like that's gotta be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"  
  
Cordelia suddenly fell backwards, and immediately snapped out an 'ouch'. "What was that for?!" she then demanded, rubbing her shoulder, the very same one that Xander had lightly tapped seconds ago.  
  
"I like 'Friends', so I thought I could give immaturity one last shot. After all, we were amigos for lo these many long years..." Xander concluded his nonsensical logic, grinning bitterly as Cordelia got up.  
  
The former odd couple of Sunnydale locked furious glances for several seconds.  
  
And, unable to contain themselves any longer, they finally burst out in laughter.  
  
It took another good ten seconds until they managed to stop laughing, at least enough to recover full rationality, equilibrium and composure.  
  
Not necessarily in that order.  
  
Cordelia stretched up to the tips of her toes, so she could reach the dark- haired boy's superior height. Doing so, and winning an expectant and confused glance from Xander, the young woman kissed his cheek and then quickly relaxed, smiling.  
  
"What was that for?" Xander asked, returning her smile.  
  
"I missed you. A helluva lot," Cordelia then answered, a meek tone in her voice.  
  
The former Zeppo stared at her hazel eyes in utter confusion, for another good ten seconds. "I missed you too, Queen C," Xander finally said, stroking her cheek softly. "A helluva lot."  
  
They then stayed still for several minutes, in utter silence as they kept just looking at each other in puzzlement.  
  
"So," Xander finally broke the silence. "Is all this happening in your head, or mine?"  
  
Cordelia shrugged, shocking her head. "Who knows? Maybe both. Maybe neither. Um, are you sleeping too?"  
  
"Yeah, Faith's taking me somewhere. Don't know if I'm gonna make it, though. Thing is, we can't just head over to a hospital. Our asses are grass, and there's a lot of lawnmowers coming. So, what's your story?"  
  
"Well, you kinda hurt me and I think I'm still pretty out of it. And before you say anything I know it's not your fault, dorkhead. I mean, I know now, but I probably won't when I wake up. I think it's a spell or something. Gosh, but that's like so you. Always heading directly to where the problem is..."  
  
A moment's pause. "Are you a masochist?" Cordelia then asked with a frown.  
  
"Eww, no!" Xander immediately snapped out in return. "And, one more thing: eww, eww, eww! Dirty mind ya got here, sweetheart!"  
  
"What? You could be!" the brunette quickly tried to defend herself. "It's not like the most unusual thing, after all. Light spanks, nothing too bad..."  
  
Her companion raised his eyebrows skeptically.  
  
"I'm not talking about me, you pervert," Cordelia snorted, rolling her hazel eyes in annoyance.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
The seer and the time-traveller went silent again. Suddenly though, an approaching figure called their attention. And when Xander and Cordelia turned around, Angel was suddenly there by their side, dressed all in white. In the sunlight.  
  
"Oookay, that's definitely not my mind working here," the former construction worker grunted.  
  
"It's mine," Cordelia grinned playfully.  
  
But then her beautiful face abruptly took on a sudden twisted expression of sadness, one that immediately shattered Xander's heart.  
  
"I'm gonna lose him, aren't I?" the brunette questioned him sadly, though Xander knew she was actually stating it as a fact.  
  
And that was enough to make him feel like a blazing arrow had just burst straight through his heart all over again, shattering it into even more pieces at his former girlfriend's misery.  
  
For Cordelia, his silence was all she needed. A single tear fell down her face, the simple contact seeming to burn her skin in an almost unbearable pain.  
  
Suddenly, Angel was simply gone and Cordelia just gazed at her former boyfriend, with such an intense stare that Xander thought he'd have abruptly shivered if he wasn't holding himself with both arms, to prevent that from ever happening.  
  
"And I'm going to lose you too," the brunette seer stated softly.  
  
Xander glanced at her, a shocked look in his soft brown eyes. "I'm sorry. But I gotta do this, Cor. You can't know how it was... Buffy, laying dead in my arms... finding Dawn... and Anya..." the last word was practically an incomprehensible sob.  
  
Cordelia sighed. "But that doesn't keep me from wishing things were different."  
  
"I know," the former Zeppo replied, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "I keep wishing that too. Over and over and over. All the time. But it's just being naÃ¯ve, Cordy. It's just stupid, wishing. It's just stupid."  
  
The brunette laughed bitterly. And, as the sound of her laughter started fading away, an incredible and nervous look of grief overtook her features. "Xander Harris, huh? You sure changed a lot."  
  
Xander and Cordelia locked their gazes upon each other for seconds, that seemed like entire centuries.  
  
After that, they didn't talk anymore. They didn't even look at each other anymore. And, suddenly, their former high school wasn't there anymore either.  
  
They just waited together, until the moment where they would finally surrender to the pull of consciousness and forget all about this dream.  
  
The shared words and meaningful gazes were a bountiful treasure that had passed between two brave people who'd used to be just a scared, innocent boy and girl.  
  
Two people who'd loved each other so confusedly and madly that they hadn't been able to understand how special their love truly had been, back in high school.  
  
How pure, and sincere, and at the same time powerful it had been â€" before the Fates had sacrificed it on the bloody altar of necessity, and the Powers sent them off on different destinies.  
  
The whole time, until that very last moment, Xander and Cordelia just kept holding hands.  
  
***  
  
[Somewhere in the outskirts of Los Angeles]  
  
"Don't call him poof. Or Peaches. Or, or anything. Don't even talk to him," Buffy nervously snapped in Spike's direction, the moment they managed to get a second alone. "And, and most of all, don't, you know, don't mention anything about his hair. Angel's a little sensitive about that topic. OK, make that a lot. Also, uh, don't, well, don't be you."  
  
The vampire scowled at the blonde Slayer's unceasing babble with unmistakable sarcasm in his eyes, and raised an eyebrow. "Not to worry pet, Spikey-dog will just put on his bleedin' muzzle when we get there, and not speak a word to ol' Peaches..."  
  
Buffy's eyes sparkled in sudden hope, and the young woman gazed at him with the perfect innocence of a five-year-old kid, her voice suddenly mellow and expectant. "Will you really?"  
  
"Bloody hell, no! If the big poof don't want me around, that's just one more reason to not go all warm 'n fuzzy," Spike promptly replied, sounding a little too irritated for Buffy's liking.  
  
"Spike, I'm serious! Dead serious!" the Slayer exclaimed, in a rougher voice and with an unfriendly expression.  
  
"Bet ya are, luv," the vampire replied nastily, with a distinct hint of irony.  
  
Buffy grunted wildly, feeling suddenly very exhausted and frustrated. "Spike, this is serious," she spoke in a considerably calmer voice, quickly surprising the vampire.  
  
"We really don't know what we're facing here, and I... oh what the hell, whatever. Look, you know I need you on board. Please, just please â€" promise me you won't be mean to Angel. Just don't... you know, just don't."  
  
Spike smirked at her, unexpectedly linking his arm with hers and squeezing it gingerly â€" very much to Buffy's surprise, making her jump awkwardly for the sudden movement. "Can't promise nothin' pet, and I ain't gonna be just bloody watching if Angelus starts the prize-fight. All right, gonna miss out on poking some fun at Soul Boy but I'll try. For the whelp's sake, I mean. Not for Monkey Boy per se, but 'cause he's your bloody friend..."  
  
Buffy smiled thinly at him. She knew that, just by saying this, Spike was already reaching his limit where the matter concerned her former boyfriend â€" and using Xander as an excuse had just made everything even more evident and clear.  
  
The blonde girl softly held his hand with hers, not really knowing what she was doing.  
  
And not really bothering to think about it, too.  
  
"Thanks. That means a heckuva lot to me."  
  
Spike squeezed his hand a little more strongly against Buffy's and then leered at her, trying to fake innocence. "Does that mean I get a kiss o' gratitude?"  
  
There was one moment of sweet anticipation...  
  
"Oy, that hurt!" the vampire cried out, as Buffy's swift punch encountered his arm.  
  
"Pig," the Slayer said, sounding unconvincing even to her own ears.  
  
Spike kept silent for a few brief seconds, and then replied, his words equally non-persuasive. "Sod off, pet."  
  
And they kept staying like that, holding hands and looking very much like a passionate couple â€" two lovers that were drawn into a deep silence they knew only they could share.  
  
And if Spike and Buffy were in fact that kind of couple, well... that was still a matter to be cleared up.  
  
Given that the chances of their complicated relationship being that simple were practically the same as having the Hellmouth free of demons, on a day you actually needed things to go good and problem-free.  
  
And, with all their experiences during all those years in good old Sunnydale, what that actually meant was that the chances of this were a big, fat zero.  
  
Aggressive and troubled sex, an odd complicity, denial, lust, repulsion, passion, contradiction and a bottomless feeling of connection were the things that characterized their secret union, and what had brought so many sleepless nights in both Spike and Buffy's existence.  
  
They'd shared the deepest physical intimacy more than once, and that was a fact. And there had been a lot more than just one act of passion, to be sure. What had the record been, eight times? During the one night?  
  
That wasn't important, though. Where they were going, where precisely it had all started, what her friends would say... those were questions Buffy really didn't want to begin thinking about, already feeling an imminent headache arising from the complex web of contradictions, fears and vulnerability.  
  
It was exactly moments like these that created the greatest doubts, however.  
  
Apart from the whole complexity bit and the confused judgments, there was one undeniable fact. The most important thing of all; when the two of them were together there was a primal sense of comfort and feeling, a sense of being oddly complete for just that timeless instant.  
  
Without needing to wonder about the future and the supposed right thing to do, or think about the past and its painful memories.  
  
Forgetting that a word people called 'reason' existed, and rational thinking didn't bring you the right thing â€" and that, maybe, irony was just a concept.  
  
Buffy and Spike knew that they should be searching for the most comforting thoughts in their situation, ones that didn't make them think about all the mistakes they could possibly be making.  
  
But at the same time, the Slayer and the vampire couldn't help thinking this was often like trying to do the right thing, when all the choices one had sucked.  
  
In any case, right now Buffy was afraid and scared â€" one of her best friends could be in real serious trouble, and she couldn't help but feel completely powerless to do anything about it.  
  
And only another Slayer could tell how suffocating and painful it was for Buffy, to feel like that.  
  
Holding hands with Spike, it was a succor that made her feel better and calmer. But the bigger question was always lingering in her mind; the blonde Slayer had questioned herself, ever since this chaotic relationship had first started, if that was really all there was to it.  
  
Do I love him? Am I in love with a soulless killer?   
  
Good question. Was she in love with Spike?  
  
Hell, she so didn't know. To be completely honest, Buffy feared the answer so much that sometimes it was hard just to breathe, as her greatest fear always seemed to follow her no matter where she went.  
  
And then of course there was the other question.  
  
Was she wrong? Had she come back wrong, no matter what Tara had told her about the spell?  
  
Buffy decided to shove these thoughts as far away from her mind as she was able to.  
  
On any other day, that could have been the toughest thing the blonde girl could have tried to do, an exercise in futility â€" to not think about her inner confusion. At any hour of the day, that was almost impossible.  
  
Any hour, any minute, any second â€" while preparing Dawn's lunch for school, patrolling, going to work, being at the Magic Box...  
  
Did I come back wrong? That was the thought that had occupied Buffy's mind day and night.  
  
But now another situation had cropped up, and it hadn't brought Buffy any relief of any kind â€" apart from briefly distracting her about Spike and her so-called life.  
  
Xander. Her friend. Her keeper. Her heart. Her rock.  
  
Apart from Willow and Dawn, her greatest weak spot.  
  
Buffy didn't know when the bad feeling had started, precisely. Possibly it had been even before Wesley's phone call to Sunnydale. She knew something had been bothering her, anyway...  
  
Something aching inside her incredibly wildly, that she'd tried to simply ignore the whole day. Something her Slayersense couldn't deny was there, though.  
  
The Scooby Gang was always in some kind of trouble, that was an undeniable truth. And this accurate fact was exactly what twisted the Slayer's heart the most right now: why did she feel as if she was going to lose Xander today?  
  
No. Buffy decided she wouldn't think like that. She couldn't. It was safer to think about Spike. It was safer to just let it all go.  
  
And, besides, she had come back wrong.  
  
How the hell could she have been right, then?  
  
For the first time, in that very insane logic, the blonde Slayer could only wish she had, in fact, come back wrong. If that was what it took for her certainty about losing Xander in the very near future to be a delusion and falsehood, she wouldn't think twice about embracing it.  
  
She had to be wrong.  
  
***  
  
"Hey! Nurse Marshall!" a yelling voice unexpectedly snapped Kelly out of her thoughts, making the curly-haired young woman turn around to search for whoever was calling her as she left the hospital building.  
  
The nurse then saw an utterly wet Michael Penn as the sandy-haired doctor walked to her side, shivering and rubbing his hands together as if he was trying to warm them. "Damn, but I'm gonna kill those little bastards!"  
  
Kelly couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Didn't your mother teach you not to play outside when it's raining?"  
  
The young doctor forced a stiff smile, still wiping the palms of his hands. "Ha-ha, very funny Nurse Marshall. I'm just gonna need to remember to start laughing sometime..."  
  
Kelly rolled her eyes. "What do you want, Dr. Penn? I'm officially off duty since, uh..." the blonde woman took a look at her watch, and turned her head in Michael's direction again. "Exactly ten minutes ago. And I won't go back there, even if they pay me a thousand million dollars."  
  
Michael just sent an odd glance at her direction.  
  
"Well, I might in the case of you know, a thousand million dollars, 'cause that's a whole lot of money and my apartment could use some redecorating..." Kelly reconsidered thoughtfully, and the sandy-haired doctor just shrugged in amused puzzlement.  
  
"You're a very strange lady, Nurse Marshall." Kelly sent him a murderous gaze, and Michael's grin widened even more. "But a lovely one..."  
  
The curly-haired blonde looked away, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. She then asked him, trying to make small talk and erase the awkward silence, "So, how did you got all wet anyway?"  
  
"Oh, that?" the young doctor pointed to his soaked clothes. "A couple of kids with water pistols. A school bus driver felt a chest pain, and the teacher had to drive them here and brought the whole class with her. Just my luck, I guess."  
  
The blonde nurse burst out in unexpected laughter and Michael just stood there, a dumb expression on his face. "You wouldn't happen to be finding my suffering amusing, now would you Nurse Marshall?"  
  
"No, I, I really don't..." Kelly said, panting on account of her continuous laughter. "I just..." she hiccuped, trying to form a sentence that was actually coherent.  
  
"I just, I just remembered something funny," the blonde finally managed to say, recomposing herself a little bit. "I wasn't laughing at you," Kelly finished lamely.  
  
"Yeah, let's just pretend as if I bought that," Michael snorted. "Anyway, I was thinking about grabbing something to eat at that new deli around the corner. So, wanna come? After all those extra hours on shift, I could definitely go for that double turkey sandwich that they sell. Lewis says the food there's a real blessing, if you compare it to the hospital's cafeteria..."  
  
Kelly shivered at hearing the female doctor's name. After last night's troubled shift, Dr. Lewis wasn't the most pleasant thing she could think about, after all.  
  
"As if beating St. Matthew's food is the hardest thing in the world," she joked, as Kelly's features suddenly took on a twisted expression of disgust. "What's with hospitals and bad food, anyway? Is it some kind of creepy worldwide conspiracy? For God's sake, the poor patients are already suffering..."  
  
That time, it was Penn's turn to laugh. "Tell me about it... even I can cook better, and in case you haven't tried my cuisine, my own dog rejects it. I think that says a lot about the matter..."  
  
Kelly grinned lightly. "It won't be me who'll disbelieve you, Dr. Penn."  
  
"Yeah, yeah..." Michael replied absent-mindedly, passing a hand through his sandy-haired wet locks. "So, wanna grab something to eat or not?"  
  
"You paying?" the blonde nurse glanced at him friskily.  
  
"Uh, lemme see... no?" the doctor replied, with the same playful tone.  
  
"Spoilsport."  
  
"OK, a coffee, and that's all," Michael offered, finding it strangely easy to surrender at the nurse's sweet smile.  
  
"I can get that in the hospital, you know. That's all we drink in there," the curly-haired young woman pointed out, sending him an unexpectedly wild grin. "And I know you'll be kind enough to pay for a king-size tuna sandwich for me, won't you?"  
  
"The most expensive one?" the doctor stuttered, raising his eyebrows with uncertainty and, at the same time, incredulity. "Wishful thinking. They don't pay me that much at this hospital, Nurse Marshall."  
  
"What about your Armani suits? They must cost a fortune, I'm sure!" she promptly accused him.  
  
"Sale," was Michael's reply. He said it in a small and, Kelly noticed, slightly embarrassed voice. So the nurse sent a biting smirk at him.  
  
"All right, so you got me. I buy my clothes on sale. Big deal. That doesn't mean I'm supposed to pay for the most expensive deli sandwich for you, Nurse Marshall," the doctor blurted out, undeniably uncertain in voice, but trying to maintain a tough exterior.  
  
The nurse made her best effort at a sweet smile. "Oh, c'mon Dr. Penn. I ran out of money yesterday, I had to pay rent. Uh, a three-months-late rent at that! You wouldn't let a poor little girl like me starve to death, would you?"  
  
"It wouldn't be such a bad idea," Penn grunted under his breath, and Kelly just grinned.  
  
The sandy-haired man could be a real pain in the ass while lost within his presumptuous, arrogant M.D. attitude, truth to be told.  
  
But now, without the doctor-nurse mindset and finally leaving St. Matthews' haunting ambience behind as they walked along during that cold day, Kelly couldn't help but giggle to herself like a silly schoolgirl.  
  
To the blonde, Michael Penn looked exactly like the kind of guy who, back in high school, the badass football players (that were unavoidable in every genuine American school environment) would steal lunches from.  
  
"Did they find that Alex Harris guy yet?"  
  
Nurse Marshall instantly gasped at hearing the dark-haired boy's name, as if Michael had just touched on something she'd have rather forgotten â€" which, in fact, she was trying to do, with an almost desperate strength.  
  
Which, as lucky as Kelly always was, had turned out to be a totally futile attempt and complete disaster.  
  
The truth was, Ms. Marshall wasn't able to forget last night's confused and appalling events. And, for some odd reason, the curly-haired nurse was pretty sure that she'd never be totally able to do so.  
  
The deep feeling of failure, to Cordelia, to Xander â€" it was almost suffocating and unbearable for her. But Kelly didn't want to go over any of that again. Maybe she'd finally learned her lesson...  
  
Never get too attached to patients or their relatives, Nurse Marshall, the blonde woman could even hear Dr. Lewis' voice warning her. It just makes everything more difficult.   
  
The problem is, Kelly thought, sighing unconsciously, I know I'd rather just quit nursing altogether, because it'd be too hard for me to change my take on that.   
  
"Nurse Marshall?"  
  
Michael's voice finally managed to snap the blonde out of her own little world, and she just sent him an embarrassed glance.  
  
"You were totally out of it for fifteen whole seconds, are you okay?" the doctor's worried voice asked carefully.  
  
"Xander," Kelly then said, winning nothing more than a puzzled look from Michael. "It's not Alex, it's Xander."  
  
"Oh," Penn replied cautiously, confused. "OK. Xander, yeah, I remember now. The wacko with the strange name. Did you know that his middle name's actually Lavelle? I saw it on his confiscated ID. Poor kid â€" I mean, it's not that hard to understand why he snapped," Michael chuckled, but immediately stopped when Kelly's face stared at him with an incredulous gaze in her wide ocean-green eyes.  
  
At that very moment, the sandy-haired man cursed himself for his usual lack of thought before actually saying something.  
  
"Carla told me she was worried about you. She said she thought you were getting too involved in Ms. Chase's case, and his own case later," Michael stated, a slight tone of accusation reaching Kelly's ears.  
  
"What else did she tell you?" the nurse asked demandingly, in a bitter tone that Michael could barely associate with the sweet, tender nurse he'd been talking to seconds ago.  
  
"Carla's just worried..."  
  
"Well, so then she'll just have to drop it!" Kelly suddenly exploded. "There's something wrong with that man, Michael, and I just â€" I failed with him. He... I'm sure he didn't... that, that headless street guy, I mean... I just, I just thought I could help him, but he's just..."  
  
"Another homicidal maniac," the sandy-haired doctor completed softly. "I'm sorry Kelly, I didn't know this case had affected you so much. I'd have been more careful with my words if I had..."  
  
The blonde nurse looked down to the pavement, and then back at his eyes. And much to Michael's surprise, Kelly started to chuckle.  
  
"What?" the clueless young doctor asked.  
  
"It's just that it's the first time you've ever called me Kelly, and not Nurse Marshall," she mused, the scene somehow looking comical to Michael given her voice was still a little snippy.  
  
"Well, get used to it," the man replied playfully.  
  
The nurse opened her mouth to retort, but a sudden scream pleading for help quickly made them run towards the voice's location, in a nearby alley.  
  
And when Michael and Kelly finally located the screamer, they had to make a strong effort not to scream out loud themselves.  
  
A scream of fear, puzzlement, astonishment, surprise, panic... they honestly couldn't tell.  
  
A brunette young woman, the same one they recognized as Faith the prison escapee from TV, was pointing Big Aunt Mona's rifle right in their faces. And Xander Harris' body was leaning against one of the walls, unconscious and bleeding nastily.  
  
"Are you doctors?" the Slayer demanded instantly, and while Michael slowly nodded, Kelly only shook her head.  
  
"I'm a nurse," Kelly decided to say, as softly and harmlessly as she could.  
  
The brunette girl started to nervously move backwards, till she finally stopped and lowered herself down next to where Xander was. Faith waved for the curly-haired blonde and the young doctor to come over, never losing her aim at them.  
  
"Please..." the brunette began confusedly, sounding to Marshall and Penn way too insecure and frightened for the cold and dangerous murderer that the news had announced her to be. "I, I couldn't risk it any longer, he's dying... please, just save him and I won't hurt you. You don't know what'll happen if he... please, just save him..."  
  
Kelly gulped in sudden fear, as she exchanged a troubled look with Michael.  
  
She'd thought this couldn't have gotten any more complicated. But Destiny had its own smooth way to show the blonde nurse how wrong and mistaken she could actually be.  
  
***  
  
Review! 


	16. Take These Broken Wings

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work â€" I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me â€" please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
A familiar noise that was starting to become way too common for the people of Angel Investigations lately rang its strident tone, and cut short the previously silent ambience.  
  
Fred dashed out of her room, straight to the Hyperion's lounge. Would they finally get any news of Cordelia's, or Xander's whereabouts, after a long night without any success? The Texan's stomach did a flip-flop of anxiety and fear at the thought.  
  
Wesley, also noticing the telephone's piercing and persistent ring, and with similar hopeful thoughts, was also on his way.  
  
And these elements gave rise to one gawky, painful and unforeseen bump, as the two members of the Fang Gang clumsily ran into each other.  
  
"Ouch!" Fred snapped and Wesley groaned in sudden pain, rubbing his forehead repeatedly.  
  
"Good bloody Lord, kindly look where you're going before you kill me one day, Fred," the Englishman cursed, staggering a little to reach a nearby chair.  
  
"Uh, sorry," the brunette Texan awkwardly apologized, blushing a little. "I'm so really sorry," she added, rebuking herself for her routine clumsiness.  
  
"Let me help you," Fred offered tentatively, pushing the chair closer to Wesley.  
  
What the brunette didn't notice was, that the dazed former Watcher was already sitting down on the furniture at the exact moment she'd pulled it away; causing the dark-haired man to miss the chair by half an inch, and fall ungraciously on the hard floor.  
  
"D-do you think I should run now?" Fred's jumpy voice asked an amused Gunn, who had just come into the room to witness the entire oafish scene.  
  
The young man just shrugged, nodding mockingly. "I think it'd be a damn good idea."  
  
Wesley's reaction wasn't quite the expected one, though. Instead, the Englishman's gaze was concentrated solely on the ambivalent expression of Angel's face, once the vampire had answered the phone while his and Fred's bumping into each other had taken space.  
  
"Angel?" Wesley said with a hint of cold feet.  
  
If, at any other time, the scenario of him sitting awkwardly on the floor would appear rather ridiculous, now it simply didn't seem to reach anyone's sense of humor.  
  
"I don't like this," Fred muttered nervously under her breath.  
  
"Where's the newspaper?" Angel asked harshly.  
  
Wesley looked to Gunn, Gunn looked to Fred, and Fred looked back at them both, with an expression that seemed to say, 'How the hell should I know?'  
  
"Angel, what happened?" Wesley asked carefully, gathering his composure and standing up again, brushing his clothes absent-mindedly.  
  
"Is it Cordelia?" Fred then added, unable to hide a distinct spark of unease and, at the same time, expectancy in her voice.  
  
A tense and thick silence followed soon afterward, and Angel's gaze was diverted away from any of his friends' ones.  
  
"Cordelia was hurt last night," Angel deadpanned.  
  
An utter stillness. The wind grew stronger; and, for a single second, all of them felt a freezing cold running violently down their spines.  
  
"Is she..." Gunn's sentence trailed off, as the young fighter realized what he was just about to say and felt a sharp twist in his heart.  
  
Angel's eyes widened instantly. "No, no. I mean, no! Cordy's gonna be OK, though she'll need to stay in hospital one more night as a precaution."  
  
Fred, Gunn and Wesley sighed in unison, more a sigh of relief than worry this time.  
  
"Xander?" Wesley asked, his question sounding surprisingly like a statement, even to himself.  
  
Angel kept absolutely quiet.  
  
"That bastard," Gunn grumbled raggedly. "She trusted him, that goddamn bastard!" he added louder, in an incredulous and sharp tone.  
  
Fred jumped in fear and tenseness, snapping her head around to offer a wild gaze at Gunn.  
  
"He was admitted as a mental patient, hours after he brought Cordelia to St. Matthew's," Angel rationalized, taking a step further along the lounge and moving away from his shadowy spot.  
  
"Schizophrenia," the dark-haired vampire pointed out, when nobody else said a word.  
  
"A wacko, great," Gunn snorted in sarcasm.  
  
"But you're not buying it," Wesley stated softly, noticing the vamp's troubled expression. "Do you think it has something to do with the medallion?"  
  
Angel needlessly exhaled a breath he didn't actually have, given his condition as a vampire. "Maybe. Anyway, we'll have to-"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, research," Gunn moaned almost painfully, timely finishing the sentence.  
  
"Research and search for answers," the dark-haired vampire concluded, as if Gunn's words were never spoken. "And Buffy said Giles found some interesting prospects that may enlighten us too. We have to wait for them to finally get here..."  
  
Angel turned his back on the A.I. team and grabbed his leather duster. The rest of the Fang Gang exchanged a dubious glance, when he started to wordlessly walk in the direction of the sewer entrance.  
  
"Angel? Wesley's voice demanded, a little uncertain and craggy.  
  
"You three stay, do the research and wait for Buffy and the others to come. I'll go see Cordelia, and see if I can get information on what really happened," the vampire replied in a rather harsh tone, still with his back to them and not stopping his rough walk for an instant.  
  
"Information?" Fred questioned lowly, her eyes sparkling with unease and growing fear.  
  
"The man's gonna kick some demon butt," Gunn whispered, looking at the brunette Texan with a small grin. "Glad I ain't in his way."  
  
"He's all bossy," she blurted out, releasing a weary sigh. "Did I say I so don't like this?"  
  
"Princess is hurt, vampire's mad," the young fighter retorted pointedly.  
  
On the other corner of the room, Wesley stood still, a dumb look on his face. "Angel?  
  
But the vampire was nowhere to be found in the room anymore, walking hurriedly through the dark and smelly tunnels of the sewers of Los Angeles to get to St Matthews' entrance without getting harmed by the sunlight.  
  
"I hate it when he does that," the Englishman grunted.  
  
***  
  
"He's losing too much blood," Michael stated quietly, looking up to find Faith's expectant eyes stabbing him in confusion and apprehension.  
  
The sandy-haired doctor stood up from Xander's side, where he'd formerly and futilely been trying to stop the hemorrhaging with a ragged piece of his own silk shirt. He sent a protective and reassuring glance to Kelly. The young nurse just bit her lower lip, unease obvious in her eyes.  
  
Michael sighed tensely â€" the surrealistic scenario was just the perfect irony to the young doctor at this moment.  
  
Xander's fallen body, laying on his own pool of blood as his brunette friend, uncertainty obvious in her tense dark eyes, seemed to examine every move he made with utter attention and certain irresolution â€" and he'd previously thought this would be a boring day.  
  
"I can't help him, not like this. We gotta get him into the hospital," Penn risked saying, his voice cautious and slightly trembling. "Or he won't make it," he then softly added, instantaneously spotting a sideways gaze from Kelly.  
  
"No," Faith snapped fidgetingly, glancing at Xander. "We can't do that, you â€" you'll help him here," the time-traveler insisted harshly, in stubborn denial.  
  
"But I can't-" the doctor tried to utter, but the Slayer quickly interrupted him, by pointing the rifle at his general direction.  
  
"Faith," Kelly's shaky voice was literally a whisper, so low that neither the brunette nor the doctor were able to actually hear her. "Faith!" the curly-haired nurse then said louder, and this time, the required attention was finally won.  
  
And, staring at the two pairs of expecting eyes intensively drilling hers, stabbing her soul with examination and expectance, Kelly couldn't help but feel incredibly intimidated.  
  
The nurse blinked a few times. And then, several more. Her hands started to sweat, and her heart was going at full-speed.  
  
God, Kelly thought, unable to remember a time where she'd been so nervous at that very same moment. Either I'm very stupid, or very suicidal...   
  
"He won't make it through this, if we don't get him into proper treatment. If you care about him, you should know that," Kelly's harsh voice announced with determination and, in the single second when nobody was looking at her, the blonde gulped loudly.  
  
Gee, I'm pretty sure you're both, Kelly, the nurse snorted, annoyed with herself.  
  
Faith looked to Xander and, as the Slayer felt an intense wave of worry and doubt passing fully through her thoughts, she was only able to nod slowly. "OK."  
  
"OK what?" Michael asked cautiously.  
  
"You," Faith pointed to Kelly, and the young nurse shuddered, letting a small cry of surprise escape from her pink-colored lips.  
  
"Go and get what you guys are gonna need from the hospital," the brunette said, stooping once again and passing a hand through Xander's dark hair, mumbling something neither Kelly nor Michael were able to hear.  
  
"You don't understand, Xander needs to be taken care of in the hospital, under appropriate conditions! I can't bring the whole hospital out here!" the blonde tried to reason with Faith, but only managed to get a shocked look from the Slayer's tense features.  
  
"Xander?" a surprised Faith demanded, bitterness and apprehension clear in her voice. "How the hell did we get to a first-name basis? Like, I don't think an ID brings a person's nickname in it," the brunette snorted sarcastically, a troublesome look causing the curly-haired nurse to get goosebumps.  
  
If Kelly's posture seemed arrogant and confident seconds before, her small and scared voice totally betrayed it now. "I, I treated Miss Chase last night..."  
  
Once Kelly's inner voice was done screaming at her not to tell Faith about her enthusiastic involvement in Xander's acceptance as a mental patient the previous night, the blonde decided she wouldn't go against such good advice or she'd really, really be a stupid and suicidal girl.  
  
"Queen C, yeah â€" right," Faith whispered in recollection, obviously more to herself than to anybody else.  
  
"What do I do?" Kelly decided to ask, not before sending a quick glance of worry to Michael, and then to Xander.  
  
"Go and get supplies. Blood bags, plasma, I don't know, everything you need and might help," the brunette Slayer retorted, evidently uncertain of her decision to not bring Xander to the hospital after all.  
  
"But-" Kelly tried to argue, but Faith suddenly gripped Michael Penn's shirt by the collar and made him stand up, to then point the rifle at the sandy-haired doctor's temple.  
  
"Doc here stays, and I swear I'll blow his head off if you take one false step, do you hear me Nurse Girl? Now git!" Faith's fidgety voice would almost convince one of her kick-ass tone, if the Slayer's eyes hadn't seemed so panicked.  
  
Kelly glanced horrified at Michael, who could only gulp and send a frightened look back at her. He mouthed a silent 'go' to the nurse, and she started to stagger away with uncertainty and dread from the dark alley.  
  
And then, as the curly-haired blonde unconsciously risked sending a hurried look over her shoulder, Xander's body started to convulse.  
  
Immediately entering into Michael Penn MD mode, the sandy-haired doctor quickly let his own body fall to the floor and darted a dark look to Kelly.  
  
Faith stood there, absolutely still, and absent-mindedly let the rifle fall from her hand. C'mon, stud, stay and fight damn it! I, I need you, c'mon, help me here!   
  
Rage, chaos, worry, fear and a deep sensation of spiritual pain overtook Faith's mind at that single instant, seeing the dark-haired boy's convulsing body.  
  
The brunette Slayer would have been surprised, if her mind could have allowed any other feeling besides those right then.  
  
Because, deep down, she knew that her care for Xander went beyond that for just a dying partner in this stupid, disturbing mission.  
  
What really frightened her the most was losing someone so important to her, someone who had kept his presence in her thoughts for so many long and lonely nights without any kind of contact, apart from two exchanged letters.  
  
Such significant letters they'd been, though...  
  
Kelly paused; a realization seeming to make her heartbeat rise to double its usual speed.  
  
Only three or four steps away, the sharp noise of a rifle falling onto the hard concrete seemed to completely overwhelm any other noise produced by faraway ambulances, cars passing by and people shouting â€" what you'd hear on a customary, regular, noisy day in St. Matthew's neighborhood.  
  
The blonde nurse slowly looked around, the whole world seeming to move in slow-motion for those endless seconds.  
  
Xander, his body in convulsions, and Michael trying to help him, not having much success without the right equipment to work with for the young man. And a few feet away, a perplexed and seemingly lost brunette girl standing still, her eyes widened and her lips trying to restrain a groan in her throat.  
  
Without giving it another thought, the curly-haired woman hurried towards St. Matthew's and left the rifle behind on the cold pavement.  
  
For some odd reason, and beyond any logical explanation, Kelly just decided to ignore that part of her mind shouting at her for her stupidity in leaving the gun there â€" and very possibly risking hers and Michael's life along with it.  
  
Something deep inside her, a stronger part indeed, just felt like helping Xander and Faith was the right thing to do.  
  
And what the heck, her panic be damned â€" if only her shaking hands would agree with her...  
  
***  
  
Dawn Summers sighed. Heavily.  
  
The brown-haired teenager hadn't any thought but one, which was consuming every fiber of her being with a mix of anger, worry and â€" quite honestly â€" deep annoyance.  
  
Living on the Hellmouth totally, completely sucked. And, like, big time.  
  
Once again, it was like they were being thrown into the Coliseum of ancient Rome, as Christians having to fight for their lives against hungry, infuriated lions. To satisfy an amazingly large crowd of excited people, waving cheerfully at their upcoming death, that were trapped in their own blissful ignorant bloodlust.  
  
Dawn knew. Her history teacher had made her study all this.  
  
But now, the laughs didn't belong to the crowd. Neither were lions their treats. OK, they even weren't that religious anyway.  
  
So sue me, Dawn rebuked herself with a distinct hint of sarcasm. I suck in the metaphor department.   
  
The only thing the Key knew for sure was that, 24 hours ago, the man for whom she'd kept a not-so-secret crush for years was about to marry a happy former vengeance demon.  
  
The night had started to announce its imminent disaster when they'd learned that Xander was apparently nowhere to be found. Dawn hadn't believe that, even with the mighty and unique potential of the Hellmouth to make things worse every minute, things could actually get worse than Anya's choice of her bridesmaid dress.  
  
Which, of course, the brunette teenager had taken special care to register in numberless photos â€" potential blackmail material, as a matter of fact.  
  
And then, well, then they were all here. In the middle of Los Angeles, the city she'd lived in for the first ten years of her life â€" or rather, the city that those monks had made her believe she'd lived in until her 10th birthday.  
  
Dawn didn't know why Buffy had let her come to LA, and she'd been spared that whole speech about keeping out of danger and blah, blah, blah â€" maybe it was because confusion could very definitely be a word to describe last night.  
  
Or maybe, just maybe her sister's empty Slayer head had actually finally grown some gray matter inside the skull. And she'd realized that, no matter how much they could try and run away from danger, it'd always be there by their sides, with its stupid wide grin waiting to show up and mess with their lives even more than it already had.  
  
So, trying to prevent her coming along was basically pointless.  
  
Certainly, brains wasn't one of the items in a Slayer's package, after all.  
  
***  
  
TBC  
  
Hey you guys! My computerÂ´s finally broken... IÂ´ll try to update soon, but itÂ´ll be difficult. Hey, check my other stories!  
  
And please, review! 


	17. The Miracle Worker

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work – I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me – please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
If Kelly Marshall had ever had any doubts about the existence of miracles before, she surely didn't have them anymore.  
  
After she'd come back from the hospital with anything she had been able to get without raising any suspicions and possibly, by doing so, put either Michael's or Xander's life in danger, Dr. Penn seemed to have stabilized the young man's previously critical condition.  
  
The strangest thing was, Kelly didn't know if her greatest relief was Xander getting to live and, as a consequence, she and Dr. Penn getting to do so as well. Or if it was that odd feeling she'd felt from the mysterious couple, at least already once.  
  
That, by helping them, she was doing the right thing.  
  
As Michael finished what his limited supplies had allowed him to do in the care of Xander Harris' life, and as Faith, with her seemingly-forgotten rifle by her side, waited impatiently for her partner to wake up, the blonde nurse's mind had only guarded space for one thought.  
  
Maybe she definitely was both a stupid and suicidal girl.  
  
But, what the heck. If Xander managed to get out of this alive, the Big Guy up there might well have some important plans for them.  
  
What she was doing, the choices Kelly had made by not trying to win control over the situation when the supposed brunette enemy had just seemed to forget her gun minutes earlier, choosing later not to turn them in to the cops...  
  
It was the right thing to do.  
  
Nurse Marshall just knew it, deep inside her soul.  
  
***  
  
The Scooby Gang was speeding along, inside a vehicle Spike had kindly borrowed the previous night from a used car lot in Sunnydale.  
  
It was a small, stuffy car; the girls' legs were piled up on top of one another's and their arms curled up uncomfortably as, by silent accord, the men had taken the front seats 'cause they were physically larger.  
  
After their unique stop minutes earlier, Buffy, Spike, Tara, Willow, Giles, Anya and Dawn were once again on their way to the Fang Gang's Hyperion hotel. And, in the way things always seemed to mess up in their lives, they had found out something really bothersome.  
  
That unpleasant finding wasn't one to brighten anyone's mood at that moment, which pretty much hadn't been a good one at practically any time during their trip.  
  
And, after a long argument between Buffy and Spike that was won by the former about the right or wrong streets to take, that was that they were lost.  
  
"Are we there yet?" Dawn asked from the back seat, arms crossed and fingers playing with a lock of light brown hair, the noisy sound of chewing gum seeming to monopolize the car's interior.  
  
And that made it exactly eight times she had pronounced those precise same words, in the last twenty minutes.  
  
"Soon, Nibblet," Spike forced out patiently, the same answer as well for the eighth time.  
  
"We're so lost," the teenager sighed.  
  
"Bloody hell, that's the Slayer's fault, not mine li'l bit," the blonde replied.  
  
"Don't you 'bloody hell' my sister," Buffy glared, threatening him. "And it's not my fault we're lost! It's totally yours!"  
  
Tara and Willow exchanged a look. Giles cleared his throat, suddenly feeling the need to readjust himself in the front seat. Anya just snorted.  
  
Spike turned to the back seat, a cocked eyebrow indicating incredulity. "Mind tellin' me how come it's not your fault, pet? It certainly wasn't my bleedin' idea to turn down that side street back there," he finished sarcastically.  
  
With the vampire's attention diverted to his sudden argument with the blonde Slayer, a car came straight at them; blasting its wild, loud and noisy horn, it barely missed the Slayermobile by scant inches, before Spike finally managed to righten the car's path.  
  
"Watch the road, you freaking moron! Ya know, there are people in here who still can die for real!" Buffy shouted, her body still covering her sister's.  
  
"And it's your fault, 'cause I say so," the Slayer finished lamely, finally recovering her previous awkward and uncomfortable position.  
  
"Good Lord, will you two ever stop? I'm already got a bloody marvelous headache," Giles exclaimed, rubbing his glasses with a handkerchief.  
  
"He started it," Buffy proclaimed self-righteously.  
  
"Honey, I know I can't do magic anymore, but I really want to turn them into frogs right now. Can I?" Willow sent her best puppy dog-like look to her girlfriend.  
  
Tara smiled sweetly. "Ah, well, I-I think we can make an exception, just for today," the blonde retorted in the same quiet murmur, the two lovers exchanging a knowing grin.  
  
Some brief seconds later, Spike took a cigarette out of his jacket and was prepared to light up – but Buffy quickly grabbed it, and shoved the cancer- stick out the window.  
  
"Don't smoke in the car," the blonde girl hissed at him.  
  
Spike glanced at her, by way of the side-view mirror. Buffy accepted the challenge, locking a harsh and childlike glance with him.  
  
Anya just murmured in annoyance, "Get a room already..."  
  
Everyone gasped. Dawn grinned childishly. Anya looked innocent. "What? Isn't this one of the things that everybody knows, but nobody talks about?"  
  
"Ah, I see, so there is some other way for me to feel even more sick," Giles clarified his previous doubt with his ironic words.  
  
Buffy looked at Spike. Spike looked at Buffy.  
  
"Never," the two blurted out somehow nervously, in unison, forcing an expression of disgust onto their faces.  
  
"Not even if she was the last bint on the face of the whole bloody planet," Spike quickly amended.  
  
Buffy nodded solicitously. "Or, or if he was the last man on Earth. Or vampire. Or both!" she declared triumphantly, sending a nervous glance around.  
  
As if by unspoken agreement, the silence was chosen by everyone afterwards, till Willow's cell phone whistled its noisy sound. Dawn jumped at the unforeseen disturbance.  
  
"The cell phone's recharged," the redhead declared with an encouraging smile, dialing the Hyperion's number.  
  
A couple of minutes then passed, with Willow eventually nodding an 'okay', and 'turn to left' or 'to the right', seemingly explained by an equally confused Fred at the other end of the line. Both Wesley and Gunn had apparently gone upstairs, getting a whole cascade of books to research.  
  
Everyone sent expectant glances to Willow, who shrugged her shoulders innocently. "What? Oh, right! The right way. No, I mean, not the right, we've gotta actually go to the left and I meant the correct way, when I said the right way just now..."  
  
"Sweetie? You're babbling," Tara murmured into the redhead's ear.  
  
Willow squeezed her girlfriend's hands gratefully. "It's only a few blocks ahead. Go left, grab a right at the next traffic light and then straight ahead."  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. "'Bout time Peaches got an easier address to find, don't ya reckon?"  
  
"Let's just go," Buffy sneered in annoyance.  
  
"G-guys? I-I-I really think we should get to a hospital first," the suddenly trembling voice of Dawn made her the focus of everyone's attention.  
  
Their gazes got wider as the Scooby Gang saw that, despite Dawn's efforts to get Anya's attention, the teenager seemed to be failing miserably – as the former demoness was out cold.  
  
***  
  
It seemed that, fortunately, Anya's faint was nothing more than a scare. Basically, because it was only for a minute or less. Still, the gang insisted on taking her to a hospital, despite their troubled situation.  
  
Buffy, Spike and Giles had headed off to the Hyperion, letting Dawn, Tara and Willow wait for Anya to be discharged.  
  
In St. Matthews' hallowed halls, a chubby nurse named Emily Ginsberg briefly explained Anya's state, and told the female trio Dr. Lewis should be catching up with them any time now with more detailed information. But that they shouldn't worry, because Anya wasn't expected to stay at the hospital any more than an hour.  
  
But the truth was, Nurse Emily had sounded rather annoyed during the whole two minutes she'd stayed with them and her words hadn't seemed too clarifying to Tara, Willow or Dawn.  
  
"Someone certainly woke up with something shoved up her ass," Dawn snorted.  
  
"Dawn!" Tara quickly blurted out.  
  
"Well, but she did!" the brown-haired teenager rebutted defensively.  
  
"Oh my God," Willow's horrified voice, sounding more like an undecipherable sob, promptly got Dawn's and Tara's attention.  
  
In the waiting room of St. Matthew's hospital, there was a chair where a newspaper lay abandoned, probably forgotten by its owner. And, printed on it, was something shocking; small letters side by side with a confusing image, said as being taken by a security camera of the very same hospital they were in right now.  
  
Faith and Xander's names, as well as their blurry images; looking more like shadows, given the photo's resolution wasn't the greatest.  
  
The thing with the homeless beggar, the running away, Cordelia's attack, everything was written down in black and white.  
  
All the lies the spell had engineered the previous night, all the fakery – Cordelia believing Xander to be her attacker, the police taking Xander as the murderer of the street bum by witnesses corrupted with an illusion formed from the spell, all of it.  
  
"Xander?" Tara gasped in surprise, as Dawn's eyes widened considerably.  
  
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Willow repeated as if it was her new mantra, a terrified expression covering her pale face, a sob of confusion and dread escaping her ruby lips.  
  
"What does this mean?" Dawn asked fearfully, suddenly feeling really sick. "This is bull, right? Xander wouldn't do what they're saying he did, right?"  
  
At the lack of a denial, Dawn closed her eyes very tight, hoping this was just a bad dream. That she'd wake up any minute and make fun of Buffy in Anya's bridesmaid dress, or something.  
  
But Willow's trembling voice didn't allow any room for that; and actually, Dawn had no idea how it'd really affect her life in the next few hours.  
  
"Oh my God, oh my God..."  
  
***  
  
"Are you sure?" Anya asked.  
  
"Pretty much," Dr. Lewis replied sympathetically.  
  
A fleeting silence, till Anya blurted out, "I'm an American."  
  
Amanda Lewis glanced about in confusion. "That's, uh, good. I guess," the doctor replied with uncertainty.  
  
"What I meant was, I can sue this hospital if you're wrong. American people do this all the time," Anya clarified helpfully.  
  
Dr. Lewis opened her mouth, a bewildered look in her green eyes. The words didn't come out for a second. But she forced a smile then exclaimed, "I'm pretty sure you won't have to do that, Miss Jenkins. I've confirmed the exam personally. Twice, as a matter of fact."  
  
Anya sighed, suddenly feeling out of breath.  
  
"You know, maybe you should get some air," Amanda suggested tentatively.  
  
"Maybe I should get better timing," Anya snorted in irony.  
  
The green-eyed doctor didn't quite understand her words, but chose to let it pass. Because Anya's words mostly hadn't made almost any sense at all, ever since the blonde woman was first signed in to be her patient.  
  
The ex-demon decided to accept Lewis' suggestion, taking care not to bump into Tara, Willow and Dawn on her way – as she really needed some time alone.  
  
Hell, what she really needed was Xander by her side.  
  
Damn him.  
  
As her feet took her aimlessly to wander outside St. Matthew's, there was only one face in Anya's thoughts. Xander's.  
  
After all, their honeymoon was supposed to be taking place right now. They were supposed to be embraced in each other's arms, kissing, together, with only them and...  
  
Faith?!   
  
"Xander? And Faith?! And two complete strangers!" Anya's voice, conflicted between confusion, relief and frenzy barked out.  
  
Faith, holding tight on a nearly-awake and still-dazed Xander Harris, stopped moving abruptly. And Michael and Kelly almost literally piled up onto the Slayer's back.  
  
"Who the hell are you?" the brunette's retort was equally confused, as the slightly familiar face stood there, an utterly flustered look on her face which was almost hidden by the long locks of blonde hair.  
  
"Ahn?" Xander asked weakly with a ghostly expression and a baffled glance, contradictory feelings immediately taking place inside his heart.  
  
If it was relief for his fiancée's comforting presence, or fear for her safety, or even shame – the dark-haired time-traveler really couldn't tell.  
  
"Hold it right there! You, drop your weapon onto the ground and hands up, now!" the sudden outburst came from the mouth of the alley, where a young and skinny police officer held his revolver with trembling hands.  
  
"Someone! I got the killer and the girl! Someone!" the obvious newbie started then to scream like a madman, wildly trying to get the other officers' attention.  
  
The group in the alley exchanged glances.  
  
One sighed. Another snorted in incredulity. Another just went silent, as the last of the group gulped.  
  
But for Xander Harris, there was nothing else to do besides laugh.  
  
OK, perhaps his body wasn't strong enough for such activity at that moment, but the young man could literally feel the irony heating up his insides with a biting, sour laugh, poking him directly in his funny bone.  
  
And the worst part was, Xander simply knew...  
  
He hadn't even hit rock bottom yet.  
  
***  
  
Please, review! Well, there'll be 20 chapters actually. So, the real action will start really soon! 


	18. When The Bough Breaks

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work – I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me – please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
"Killer?" Anya asked in confusion, and then she widened her hazel eyes at Kelly and Michael. "You! And you!" the blonde girl hissed in amazement.  
  
The two ER workers couldn't do anything, besides shudder at her tone. The nurse and the doctor shared a sideways glance, their hands holding tightly onto one another's without them being aware of doing it.  
  
"I knew you couldn't trust in doctors! Well, even if they seem lanky and weak and stuff like Clark and Lana here... I always said they drink too much coffee to pass themselves off as normal people, but nobody would believe me!" Anya muttered self-righteously.  
  
Despite everything, in between the brief confused glances from Faith, Michael and Kelly, Xander chuckled. A weak, almost non-existent smile came onto his lips; but nonetheless, it was there. And his hands finally touched Anya's for the first time in what was weeks for him, but less than two days for her.  
  
Still, it was enough to make Anya feel as if the world had stopped spinning for what seemed like millennia, even.  
  
There was something Anya couldn't possibly know, and Kelly and Michael never even imagine. Faith might have had a clue, but even she could never really fully understand it.  
  
The thing was that for Xander, many painful days had passed with the memory of the blonde girl lying dead in his arms. Until the moment she finally rose as a vampire, one of the many children of the Scourge of Europe.  
  
But now, in spite of the chaotic situation around him, Xander had once again realized what was the what. He had been given a second chance to make things right, and it didn't matter how disastrous things could end up for him here and now; he'd still come out a winner.  
  
Angelus hadn't risen yet. Anya was alive here, by his side. She and her silly, lovable fleeting thoughts. She and her warmth, her sparkling hazel eyes...  
  
Alive and smiling back at him, despite everything.  
  
As the same time this realization hit Xander, the young cop Jimmy – as everybody had called him ever since he was a kid – he with the shaky hands and frenzied heartbeat, didn't stop his wild calls for assistance at any single moment. And his gun was keeping aim at both Xander and Faith, the entire time.  
  
During these ephemeral moments, before anyone had a chance to say anything at all, Anya realized something.  
  
It wasn't the suspicious, evil and coffee-addict doctors Jimmy was pointing his gun at.  
  
The supposed killer, whom Johnny cop-boy had yelled so loudly about, was Xander.  
  
Her Xander.  
  
Anya's eyes, a mix of hurt and astonishment, quickly turned to Xander's, clearly searching for answers. The weak, almost non-existent smile immediately fell off her fiancé's face, giving place to a shadowed cloud that viciously overtook Xander's features.  
  
And once again, before the dark-haired time-traveler had a chance to utter a single word, Jimmy, a particular hurricane of unsteadiness and nervousness, started to scream again, "I said hands up, now! I, the cops, they'll be here real soon! No false steps or I'll shoot!"  
  
Nobody had any doubts Jimmy would shoot, but that wasn't because he was such a tough cop and all. Instead, it was far more likely that his trembling fingers would end up pulling the trigger by accident, so nervous was the Latino young man.  
  
"C'mon chicos, I need you to get here fast," Jimmy whispered under his breath, expecting backup to show up soon.  
  
What didn't help the young cop at all was that, at St. Matthew's, victims of a seemingly huge trauma accident had just arrived. The tumultuous state of the hospital's neighborhood right then, from the noisy multiple sirens to the great commotion of ER workers on location, seemed to completely fuel Jimmy's paranoid leanings.  
  
"What do we do now?" Anya asked in a hurried tone.  
  
"Normally I'd say run, but then normally I'm not stuck in a goddamn blind alley," Xander frowned, finally freeing himself from Faith's grip, still a little drowsy though.  
  
The dark-haired young man winced briefly in pain, raising his hand and pressing it lightly against his wound, which was still hurting him even though the bleeding had stopped.  
  
Anya scowled, fear in her eyes. The ex-demoness gently pressed her own hands at the site of hemorrhaging, going silent with worry.  
  
"Take it easy, buddy," Faith said tentatively, risking to take a few steps forward, letting the rifle fall once more onto the hard ground – this time intentionally though, and not because she was in some sort of a trance like earlier with Xander wounded.  
  
"I said hold it, right now miss! I, I'll shoot, I swear!" the dark-haired Latino yelled.  
  
"I know a way out of here by the alley," Kelly muttered in a low voice, and Xander's glance snapped from Anya's to hers.  
  
Faith had also listened to her words, as the Slayer offered a brief sideways glance to Xander, but the girl had evidently chosen to pretend as if she hadn't. As if by unspoken agreement, the brunette kept making small talk with Jimmy so they could try to hear Kelly's plan.  
  
Michael squeezed the curly-haired young woman's hand considerably hard, and Nurse Marshall had to bite her lower lip not to yelp.  
  
Kelly wanted to tell him that this was the right thing to do, to help them, a supposed murderer and his partner-in-crime – who was apparently, as the news had reported, an equally dangerous person.  
  
But could the blonde girl honestly believe that too? Every part of her mind screamed that she could indeed, and she should, but then that was that annoying, troublesome part of her, the so-called rational part.  
  
Kelly had been there with Cordelia Chase. She had heard, painfully as a matter of fact, the brunette's pleas for Xander not to hurt her anymore.  
  
So why was she trying to help him right now? Why did her heart believe he hadn't been the guilty villain, but the hero instead?  
  
The bottom line was, what should Kelly listen to?  
  
Her heart or her mind?  
  
***  
  
Michael Penn had never been so scared in his entire life. All the signals were there to prove it, in fact.  
  
Sweating palms, trembling hands, shaky legs, accelerated heartbeat and, worst of all, his entire goddamn life flashing before his eyes, like in an old movie or something.  
  
The sandy-haired doctor gulped. And then, he gulped once more.  
  
But soon afterwards, he couldn't find any saliva to gulp anymore, once his mouth suddenly became dry at hearing Kelly's words, "I know a way out of here by the alley."  
  
Michael was terribly close to totally freaking out, over the idea of Kelly deliberately helping two criminals in their getaway and, besides, putting her own life in more danger than it already was.  
  
After all, it didn't matter how much sympathy Penn himself had felt for them, or if the doctor had even tried to fight that feeling off – they were still dangerous, they were murderers for Christ's sake!  
  
But there was one safe anchor that stopped him from losing it completely. Kelly's grip on him, her hand squeezing his reassuringly – like she knew what she was doing, and she'd need his help to get through it.  
  
And from then on, Michael had never been so sure of anything in his life, had never trusted in anyone like he was trusting in his curly-haired co- worker right now.  
  
Things were getting stranger and stranger with each and every brand-new second, granted.  
  
And there was this feeling, suddenly hitting him like a lightning bolt – as if Kelly had somehow oddly managed to pass to him from herself, something that attacked his being with its amazing strength.  
  
Because, suddenly, Michael just knew. What Nurse Marshall, Kelly, was about to do – it was the right course of action to take.  
  
As of now the sandy-haired young doctor would trust her with not only his life, but his immortal soul as well if he had to.  
  
***  
  
"Knock, knock!" Spike uttered loudly, as he stepped inside the Hyperion's lobby, Buffy by his side and Giles following them closely.  
  
The room remained as quiet as it had been seconds before.  
  
"Seems no one's home, pet. Bugger," the vampire hissed, frowning, his shoulders arching in obvious sarcasm. "That was some wanking awful reception. Well, bit o' luck and we'll make Sunnyhell before the Passions rerun marathon. Cross your fingers, Slayer..."  
  
Spike started putting on his thick blanket to run back to the car, his clothes and dark glasses reminiscent of the time the Scooby Gang had needed to run away from Glory and her insane search for the Key, Spike's li'l bit.  
  
But before he could do so, Buffy promptly grabbed him by his duster, wordlessly yanking the vamp further inside the hotel accommodations.  
  
"Bloody hell," Spike sighed as he took off the glasses.  
  
"I supposed they're, uh, researching upstairs. That was what Willow said that that Fred girl told her, right?" Giles' voice was heard for the first time, since they had entered the Hyperion.  
  
Buffy looked at her former Watcher. "Yeah, probably," she replied slightly absent-mindedly. Giles noticed her alert position, a typical Slayer-ready- to-fight one.  
  
"Buffy, is there something wrong?" the Englishman questioned her, and less than a moment later the blonde girl screamed out one of her Slayer-like yells.  
  
Agilely jumping on a certain figure that suddenly appeared at one of the entrances, with features Giles couldn't quite make out clearly yet, the petite Slayer had her hands around the demon's neck, in total control of the fight.  
  
"That's what's wrong," she snorted, a cheerless grin on her face. "An demon asshole that's not like miles away from me," the blonde hissed sarcastically.  
  
"Uh, no offense," Buffy amended apologetically, offering a frown close to embarrassment to Spike.  
  
"None taken," the blonde vampire replied simply.  
  
"So, do I need to beat the crap out of you until ya start talking, or will you be a good boy?" Buffy demanded, her body on top of the demon's and her face displaying a playful smirk.  
  
The demon, incapable of talking because of the Slayer's hands strongly gripping his poor neck, didn't see any other alternative. He bit the girl's hand, and Buffy immediately let go of him.  
  
"Hey! Nobody told me he bites!" Buffy muttered, sounding offended.  
  
Recoiling into a corner, the demon took stock of his situation, breathing heavily. Almost instantaneously, Spike's foot hit its aim right on his stomach. The blonde vampire then yanked up the other demon by the collar of his shirt, shoving him against the wall.  
  
"Now, ya ask the lady for apologies and then we'll 'ave a nice li'l talk, demon to demon," Spike barked out almost raggedly, holding tight onto the demon's shirt.  
  
When he raised his head, though, Spike's eyes suddenly widened in recognition.  
  
"The Host?" the vamp asked incredulously, though it was more like a statement actually.  
  
"Good to see you too, blondie," Lorne groaned, setting his yellow jacket back into place and popping his neck with a loud crack, followed by a new moan of pain.  
  
"And as for you, that hurt! Quite a bit of strength you've got there, sweetheart," the green demon added dryly, and Buffy scowled in confusion.  
  
"You two know each other?" the Slayer asked skeptically.  
  
Spike's enraged expression quickly faded away, to give place to the widest smile Buffy had ever seen. "Are you kiddin'? You're talkin' to the owner of the freakiest bloody Karaoke bar in the whole of bleedin' L.A.!"  
  
Suddenly, Lorne felt his back being tapped by Spike in an intended amicable way, and once again, his whole world was filled with sharp pain.  
  
"Let's stop with the greetings, OK? And FYI, Spike – my ears still haven't recovered from that mangling of Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' you did at the club, way back when," the Host shook his head, stepping away. A smirk grew on his lips, as he turned to glance at Buffy. "So, I'll take you as being the famous Miss Buffy Summers."  
  
The petite girl glanced in confusion at Giles, who frowned as well.  
  
Lorne didn't wait for an answer. "You're in Angelcakes' aura, doll-face. And I've heard a lot about you."  
  
"Oh," Buffy blurted out, even more confused if such a thing was possible.  
  
"You know Angel too?" Giles questioned.  
  
Lorne smirked knowingly. "Let's just say I went to Hell and back with him..."  
  
As the three pair of eyes started staring at him in puzzlement, his grin only grew wilder. "Angelcakes even got to know Mother," the Host whispered, a nostalgic look in his red eyes. "Aw, these are such gross memories I think I might puke right now."  
  
"Buffy, Mr. Giles?" Wesley suddenly appeared from upstairs, Gunn and Fred following him down.  
  
"Wesley," Buffy and Giles echoed in unison.  
  
Spike, who had his back to the ex-Watcher, glanced at him and then at the other two. "Ponce, pet, wanker," he saluted Gunn, Fred and Wesley in turn, giving them his best attempt at a disinterested face.  
  
On the other hand, Wesley's features lit up in fascination. "Spike! Good Lord, then it's true – you really have that chip in your brain, don't you?"  
  
"Oh marvelous, do I 'ave my own bloody fan club now?" the blonde vampire snorted ironically.  
  
"Not really," Gunn retorted, in a rather hostile way.  
  
Spike just scowled. "Who's the bint?" he asked, smiling to Fred. He waved hello with his hands, and the Texan girl smiled back.  
  
Buffy just scowled.  
  
"The unstoppable killer, the impetuous murderer, the slayer of two Slayers... domesticated by human technology... absolutely amazing," Wesley was still lost in fascination.  
  
"Hey, I'm still evil, ya know," Spike declared, glaring at Wesley intensely and starting to pace around the Englishman. "I can set your bleedin' house on fire, you, you, brainiac git! I still can make ya life a bloody hell," he added with a twisted smirk.  
  
"For God's sake Spike, you watch Passions and you haven't killed a human in years," Giles grunted in annoyance.  
  
Gunn chuckled loudly, and when Spike grimaced at him, the young fighter put on his best badass face, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"Okay, let's get with the introducing thing," Fred snapped quickly, eyes wide and breathing fast.  
  
"I'm Winifred Burkle, but people call me Fred because it's shorter, and less odd I guess," the brunette Texan said, and then pointed to the guys of the Fang Gang. "This is Gunn," the young man waved a quick hello with his hand, "Lorne," Caritas's owner smiled and bobbed his head in greeting, "and Wesley, well, you know Wesley already I guess," Fred finished.  
  
There were several seconds of utter silence.  
  
"You don't have to introduce yourselves, we know you from pictures and all," the brunette girl snorted, seeing that the space she had left open for the Sunnydale trio to introduce themselves wasn't going to be filled.  
  
The group exchanged another awkward glance till Buffy finally spoke up, "What about Xander and Cordelia? Any news you guys may have gotten in... ah, twenty minutes?"  
  
The Slayer mentally cursed herself and her stupidity; having totally forgotten that Willow had, in fact, spoken with the Angelites not so long ago on her cell phone, and they hadn't anything new then.  
  
Wesley's features darkened abruptly. "Actually, we do have something," the former Watcher stated quietly. "But I believe it's better if we sit down first..."  
  
***  
  
"Are you sure you're really okay?" Angel asked, his voice soft.  
  
The souled vampire, sitting at Cordelia Chase's bedside, was gingerly passing a hand through the seer's short hair. The girl, a drowsy and half- hearted smile on her face, grinned weakly at him.  
  
"It's the sixth time you've asked me that, Angel," the brunette said in semi-annoyance.  
  
"You know what they say, sixth time's a... a double charm?" Angel replied tentatively, frowning at this.  
  
The dark-haired vampire's face melted in a thin smile as Cordelia grinned lightly, but when the seer yelped in sudden pain as she tried to shift her position in the bed, Angel's eyes shone in anger.  
  
Cordelia noticed, and she looked up at him with a great sadness. "I don't know why he did it, Angel. But-"  
  
He rapidly cut her off, "But he did it, Cordy. And I'm gonna make him pay for that."  
  
The brunette sighed. "He's Xander. He'd never do something like that, I know but... I can't understand this, Angel, I just can't," the young woman said in a small voice, a single tear falling down her soft cheek.  
  
The vampire could even feel his heart breaking in two. "People change," he stated quietly. "But we can't let people get hurt 'cause of that, Cordelia. We gotta stop him before he kills someone else, before it's too late," the souled vampire stared intensely at her.  
  
"S-someone else?" Cordelia gulped, suddenly feeling sicker than she'd ever felt before in her life.  
  
"You need to rest, Cordelia, really," Angel amended, quickly changing the subject.  
  
To explain Faith's jailbreak and Xander's murder, facts that Angel had learnt in St. Matthew's halls while the TV was displaying some news about the case – it definitely wasn't the greatest idea to do that right now.  
  
More preferable to do it in a closed, isolated room where nobody would hear her, and Cordy could scream freely and in peace.  
  
"Don't you even think you're gonna leave me out of this, Angel! And besides, do you have any idea how much time I've been laying on this bed? I can practically feel the cellulite forming on my legs right now!" Cordelia exploded.  
  
"I can't believe he did it," she then added hurriedly, hands flat on her lap and eyes down, her voice small and her features conflicted.  
  
Angel rearranged himself on his seat, trying to say something his mind couldn't really think of. "There's plenty of evidence he did," he finally stated, not looking at Cordelia. "I'm sorry," he added lamely.  
  
"I was there, I know! I pretty well am the evidence," she retorted with a hint of annoyance. "But what if it's, I don't know, something else? Huh, a spell maybe! Those lawyers at Wolfram & Hart have been way too quiet lately, ya know," Cordelia said almost desperately, with lost eyes that only hoped Angel would confirm her suspicions.  
  
"Cordy, I," Angel took a breath he didn't really need and continued. "I believe something's altered Xander's mind, I really do... but I don't think it's some kind of spell at all."  
  
"And why can't it be?" the brunette girl retorted, almost yelling in rage and frustration.  
  
"It's... Wesley found something. And the things Xander did, he really did it if this stuff's for real," Angel explained softly, taking the seer's hand into his own and squeezing it gingerly.  
  
Cordelia absent-mindedly shoved it away and whined, "I just feel it can't be true," the ex-cheerleader whispering so quietly that, if Angel hadn't his enhanced vampire hearing, he'd have surely missed her words.  
  
"I'm sorry," the souled vampire repeated again.  
  
Cordelia glanced up, her eyes hurt and conflicted. "No Angel, you're not listening to me. I can feel something weird. I know something's wrong with this picture, I can feel it!"  
  
"Cordelia, I understand how you may be feeling, but we've-" Angel tried to calm her down, but the brunette seer's sharp words immediately cut him off.  
  
"Angel! I can feel it! OK, it's not like a vision or anything, but still it's... somehow, some way, I just feel that Xander isn't the villain here. I know what happened, I remember – but I also know what I feel. We've gotta find him before the cops do!"  
  
*** 


	19. Secrets And Lies

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him? ***  
  
"So, let's see if I got this straight," Buffy spoke in an artificial way, her features troubled and her body language all wrong in the lounge of the Hyperion hotel.  
  
"You're sayin' you didn't tell me about Cordelia and Xander and Faith before, 'cause you didn't want to mention something like that over the phone, and you didn't want me to get all upset or worried over it," she mused. Every word being spoken in an ever-louder tone of voice, angry and with some hints of sarcasm present.  
  
Wesley nodded slowly, almost tremulously, and when Gunn offered Fred a sideways glance the Texan girl frowned in return and just winced.  
  
The blonde Slayer half-grinned, and it looked considerably more like a threat than an expression of amusement. "You know what, I don't think it helped so much! I'm still feeling pretty much upset and worried, ya know," Buffy spoke too calmly, gazing rather menacingly at her former young Watcher.  
  
"Buffy, please," Giles intervened to calm down the blonde girl a little. The Slayer snorted, shifted just a little on the couch and crossed her arms as a belligerent kid would, under her father's instructions.  
  
Fred noticed with a hint of confusion and curiosity when Spike, who was leaning against a dark corner on the room, eyed Buffy with genuine worry in his blue-eyed glance.  
  
"Miss Su-" Wesley started to say, but his voice came out like a slightly strident and rather girly squeak.  
  
The Englishman cleared his throat, shot an awkward glance at the Slayer and continued, "Buffy. Please do try to understand our position - I was the one who gave Fred instructions to withhold information until you got here, but my intentions were strictly honorable. I just didn't want to worry you needlessly, and I thought it'd be more seemly to give such, well... dire news personally. That's the reason I-"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, you lied to Willow, road to hell, I got it already," Buffy hissed out, still seeming to have a hard time cooperating.  
  
Giles decided to interrupt, before the ambience became even more hostile. "But still, Wesley, I-I'm afraid I still have a hard time following all this. You said Faith apparently broke out of jail, and Xander was with her. And a-also that Cordelia was previously on a possible search for Xander... who initially came here and tried to, to attack Angel?"  
  
The older Watcher paused and took his spectacles off to clean them, not bothering at all to find a way to hide the perplexity he felt with what his own words were suggesting.  
  
"I must admit it all seems like a bloody load of nonsense so far, and that I'm having quite a tough time trying to understand it all. Because what you haven't told us yet, is how it came about that Cordelia is currently in St. Matthew's hospital. And why Xander and Faith, a-are being sought out by the LAPD."  
  
Buffy's hazel eyes looked down for a brief second; the girl wishing with all her might to believe this was all just a bad, very bad dream.  
  
The Slayer never thought she'd have ever entertained the notion, but being in Anya's horrible green bridesmaid dress suddenly sounded incredibly appealing and a hell of lot more comfortable than hearing this.  
  
Because, deep inside, Buffy's Slayersense was practically screaming at her that, whatever it was that Wesley was going to say, it wasn't gonna be good news by any stretch of the imagination.  
  
***  
  
Angel suddenly got up from his chair and started to pace along the hospital room, with disturbed and rather nervous steps.  
  
"Look, Cordy, it's hard to accept - I get that, I really do. But you told me yourself, you remember him as being your attacker! The police also have proof positive against Xander, the crimes he committed. And I really think we should keep in mind the fact, that he did try to stake me as well," the vampire spoke rationally - caution and, at the same time, tenseness present in his voice.  
  
The vampire sighed, and took his seat again. He looked down, and then at Cordelia again, taking her hand into his. "Cordelia... there are, well, some things aren't always... if there's one thing I learnt after Darla changed me, it's that not everything can be blamed on the forces of Evil."  
  
The brunette girl cringed in dismay at Angel's condemnation of her ex, but she decided to ask anyway in a small and slightly tremulous voice, "What the hell are you trying to say?"  
  
Angel sighed again, a heavier and thicker sigh this time. "The doctors... they think... no, they have reason to believe that Xander may have been suffering from some kind of schizophrenia," he stated softly, and saw the seer's hazel orbs grow wild.  
  
"You can't possibly have bought that, Angel! Oh my God - I'm wrong, you have! You... oh, that's it! I just can't believe that *you* of all people really think that Xander could have suddenly gone schizo on us! Not when there's this whole bunch of weird stuff happening in the meanwhile!" she snapped, yanking her hand away almost brutally.  
  
"How did he seem to you?" Cordelia then asked suddenly with a decided voice, but her figure, half-laying and half-sitting on the gurney of the hospital room, seemed eerily slumped and fragile to Angel.  
  
He shrugged away these thoughts with an absent-minded shrug. The dark- haired vampire glanced at the brunette and frowned, distracted by his previous thoughts. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"  
  
The seer released an annoyed snort. "At the hotel yesterday! Did Xander... well, when he was with you in the Hyperion, how did he look like to you?"  
  
Angel sat in thick silence for a second, and gazed at Cordelia in a perturbed way. "I don't remember," he admitted in confusion, a strange realization hitting the undead with full force.  
  
"This is weird, I... I don't think I can remember one single second of our fight, I just... well, I know we did fight, as a fact. I know that, I know he tried to stake me but I just... I don't remember details at all, there are no images in my mind. No memories..."  
  
"I can't remember either," the brunette girl practically whispered, her frown seemingly matching Angel's as in a reflection of their mutual confusion. "Not even a glimpse, there's just this big blank! Nada," she lamented with a shake of her head.  
  
The vampire didn't reply; he just diverted his glance to Cordelia's, his look of conflict and hers of fear speaking volumes for them.  
  
"Something's definitely wrong here, Angel," Cordelia winced, frightened. "And as much as you'd apparently like to believe otherwise, I don't think your comforting 'Xander is cuckoo' theory is gonna cut it to explain what's going on."  
  
"We called Sunnydale," the vampire began, after a short moment of silence.  
  
At the seer's sudden snap of head to his gaze, he continued, "Maybe we've found something, uh, a research kind of thing something. I'm not really sure what it is yet, but Wesley was waiting for Giles to arrive and exchange information."  
  
"And you're telling me this now? Now?!" the brunette girl snapped in incredulity.  
  
Cordelia tried her best to ignore the pain blasting through her body as she got up from the bed, and eyed the room in search of her clothes. After fleeting seconds she saw they were in fact lying on a chair, recently come back from the St Matthew's laundry and brought into the room by a nurse while she was sleeping.  
  
She hastily grabbed the jeans and slid into them despite the gown of the hospital, with her look definitely not one of happiness and joy at the moment.  
  
Angel sighed, and passed a hand through his dark-haired slightly spiky locks. "Cordy, I really think you should wait for a doctor before-"  
  
"Hey! Don't you dare Cordy me," Cordelia cut him off with an upset glare. "And do you mind?" the brunette added with some annoyance in her voice.  
  
"Oh, right, right," Angel replied and turned to a corner awkwardly, knowing he'd probably be all red and blushing if it wasn't for his undead condition while the seer shucked the gown for her red blouse.  
  
The souled vampire, his face analyzing the wall of the room as his hands found their way to his pockets, said softly, "I, uh, I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, I just-"  
  
At Cordy's loud and rather angry snort, Angel stopped, his vamp hearing letting him know she was still getting herself dressed from the sound of her blouse's zipper.  
  
"This is a very interesting wall," the Irishman whispered awkwardly, feeling stabbed by the brunette's angry glances at him at that moment.  
  
"You can turn around now," Cordy sighed, and Angel didn't take long to realize her previous anger was mostly gone, as her voice took a somewhat more morose tone.  
  
"God, I still can't believe just how blind you can get, Angel!" Cordelia suddenly yelled once more, shaking her head with something that disturbingly reminded the dark-haired vampire of an animalistic growl.  
  
Well, about the rage thing, the souled vamp did say *mostly* gone after all.  
  
The young woman glanced at him, and then diverted her hazel gaze to the side. "You couldn't look past your own feelings? If it was anyone else... I mean I thought you'd be able to think clearly, even after everything that's happened, but I guess I didn't take into account just how much you and Xander really hate each other..."  
  
"I don't hate Xan-" Angel began angrily, but Cordelia stabbed him with a furious gaze.  
  
There was a moment of silence before the vampire shrugged helplessly, "He does call me Deadboy a lot."  
  
Despite the situation, Cordelia grinned.  
  
"I just wanna get out of here," the seer then said, tiredness definitely present in her voice. "Find out what the heck's wrong, help Xander and then have the longest bubble bath of my life."  
  
As Cordelia walked in the door's direction, Angel suddenly stood frozen in place. "Cordy?"  
  
"And also a large pepperoni pizza, with lots of cheese on top," the brunette daydreamed aloud, despite the obvious world of concern for her former boyfriend from Sunnydale. And the weariness that Cordelia was finding herself in the middle of, completely unaware of Angel's almost shy use of her nickname.  
  
In an almost sing-song tone, her hazel eyes closed and lost in fatigue, the seer murmured, "Oh, and a nice, long stay in bed for at least a week..."  
  
A sigh from Angel. "There's something else. Well, someone..."  
  
Cordelia winced in anticipation - but as the dark-haired vampire's lips told her about Faith's reappearance in this nonsensical nightmare that their lives had turned into, all that the young woman could do was stand still and then scream in pain.  
  
Because all previous thoughts of anger towards Angel for hiding the facts from her, bubble baths and pizza vanished from her mind as a world of agony filled her whole being, making Cordy's body cringe as another vision formed in her brain with its never-less-painful arrival.  
  
Seeing Xander carrying the rogue Slayer Faith's bloody corpse would have been the greatest of shocks, if it wasn't for one other fact.  
  
The Powers That Be's message was saying that, in the midst of all the unusual happenings - even by the standards of a former Sunnydale habitant like herself - there was now one more to add to the list.  
  
Because the exact location of the vision was actually just a few hundred meters away from them, very close to St. Matthew's hospital limits and possibly in one of the nearby dead-end alleys at the back of the building.  
  
And the murderer's familiar face was the most appalling thing of all.  
  
***  
  
Review, please!  
  
I'm sorry for this chapter, is rather short and incomplete - hey, I just didn't want you guys to forget I'm here! 


	20. Lockdown

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
"Are you OK?" Angel asked softly, sweeping the brunette's mussed hair away from her face with great gentleness.  
  
Cordelia, held carefully in Angel's arms, felt the urge to cry angry, hot tears of woe; and then the seer realized, she didn't have any strength to fight that impulse anymore.  
  
What she had just seen, the vision her mind had had to forcefully endure - the young woman simply couldn't fight the urge to weep any longer, and so heart-breaking muffled sobs echoed against the vampire's chest.  
  
"Angel..." Cordy said weakly, in a cracking voice. "I... oh dear God, I saw it..."  
  
"Shh, it's all right," the former Angelus whispered, brushing her brunette locks carefully. Even when his worry was increasing sky-high, Angel didn't want to push her any.  
  
Cordy jerked her head up to look at him, and what the vamp saw was a mix of sorrow and disconcertment. The girl tried to talk, but the words simply couldn't reach her trembling lips as she felt the tears falling down her face in an ocean of pain.  
  
And then, Angel noticed it. Her eyes, the way she was looking at him...  
  
Something new was now present in her hazel orbs, and the vampire didn't know what. But it could have been...  
  
Defeat. Just... plain defeat.  
  
The great abyss in her hurt, rueful eyes was telling him that, screaming it at him; the mix of grief, pain, rage, and then, just a blank emptiness.  
  
And that wasn't something he'd ever thought he'd be seeing in Cordelia's eyes, ever.  
  
"Cordy..." Angel began, unease and fear imprinted in his voice. "What is it? What did you see?"  
  
"You know I love you, right?" the girl felt the need to whimper suddenly, in a weak voice, and Angel didn't know how to react to that.  
  
But then, before he could give any further thought to both his confusion and consternation at Cordelia's behavior, the former Scourge of Europe felt a strong blow connect to his head. And then another, and then there was just darkness.  
  
The brunette seer, holding the room's lamp in one hand and fighting to keep ahold of her maelstrom of emotions, just could whisper downheartedly, "I'm sorry, Angel..."  
  
***  
  
The unusual quintet formed by the bride-to-be Anya, the hospital co-workers Michael and Kelly, and the two so-called criminals Xander and Faith, successfully managed to avoid Jimmy the cop's trembling aim before any other policemen arrived.  
  
To be honest, Jimmy would have been better off trying to hit Faith and Xander, the two intended targets, if he'd have aimed the gun anywhere at random and just opened fire. The bullets that echoed from the young Latino's revolver were actually flying everywhere but their designed aim, as the nervous cop's hands just couldn't stop shaking.  
  
Guided by Kelly, who'd brought them to a door in the alley that Faith easily managed to break down, the group entered a seemingly-old site firstly in silence and caution. Then they noticed its obvious emptiness, and relaxed a little.  
  
The place was a large and old-looking warehouse; the overwhelming darkness of it only broke by a few weak patches of sunlight coming from two dirty windows, both three feet tall and located on overhead positions along the wall.  
  
Stuffed with several dusty boxes, the warehouse could either imply a handy shelter or a tricky place where they could be isolated by the police force - however, they didn't exactly have many choices at the moment.  
  
The quintet ran through the site's innards, forcefully having to run the risk and hope for the first option to turn out to be true.  
  
***  
  
After a minute or two, the group realized the Latino cop-boy hadn't broken into the warehouse behind them, and probably was waiting for reinforcements - which certainly couldn't mean anything fun, anyway.  
  
"Who the hell are you people?" Michael asked in an unsettled murmur, his back leaning against one of the dusty boxes and his breath raspy.  
  
The two time-travellers exchanged a brief glance, but the truth was they just didn't have the time to deal with this.  
  
"Hey doc, don't go there right now," Faith's voice, if judged by an outsider's perspective, could have seemed either annoyed or somehow amused.  
  
Now, Michael Penn wasn't exactly what one would call a courageous man. Crabby? Now and then, granted - his hard schedule actually made it almost a prerequisite in his profession.  
  
Ill-tempered? Well, he'd had his moments indeed. Kelly had oftentimes been a victim of that.  
  
Plus, occasional yelling at both at-blame and faultless co-workers was natural during the harder shifts at St Matthew's. Probably due to the harshness of so much blood, pain and, oftentimes, situations where all a doctor could do was watch helplessly as his patient's life slipped away.  
  
But then again, it happened rarely with the wrong people - his superiors, for instance. Even when the young man could hate some decisions made by his bosses, he'd almost never gather up the courage to loudly complain about it. It just wasn't his nature to do such a thing.  
  
And that was the reason why Kelly, co-worker, friend and some would swear something more now, felt suddenly breathless by Michael's unexpected outburst.  
  
"You kidnap us, point a freaking gun in our faces and still, we're here saving your butts. So don't tell me not to go anywhere!" Penn exploded, his voice a barely repressed shout.  
  
The Slayer and the former Zeppo could only exchange a look and a shrug. They seemed almost as surprised as Kelly by Michael's verbal explosion.  
  
"Future pals, came back in time to do some Dead Boy staking, save the world and see if we can make some money on tomorrow's lottery numbers," Xander replied with jaded sarcasm. His attention wholly on the warehouse's main door, and his eyes never looking back into the doctor's ones.  
  
"Look, cut the smart-ass bull, 'kay? I think we've earned some explanations - hey, if it wasn't for Nurse Marshall's help, right now you'd probably be lying on some table in the hospital morgue!"  
  
Xander lifted his gun to aim at Michael's chest, out of pure instinct. Even when his intentions were for shutting up the young doctor and not actually shooting him, the young man felt an unsettling cold in his spine.  
  
Anya whimpered at the unexpected act, and Faith just eyed her dark-haired ex-lover with great unease.  
  
"Just stay quiet, alright? I, we, oh hell! We *really* don't have time for this right now, comprende? We don't have time, so just, ya know, just stay fricking quiet," Xander's voice was cracking up, and Faith and Anya easily noticed his effort to try to hide it.  
  
It wasn't Xander's intention to act like such an asshole; but as previously said, both he and the brunette Slayer had too much on their minds right then.  
  
Before a puzzled Michael could say anything at all, the young doctor felt a warm hand squeeze his smoothly. Turning around, he found his friend's widened orbs boring into his own blue eyes.  
  
The sandy-haired man let out another weary sigh, his face showing dismay and unease, both for himself and for his curly-haired companion's life. Nurse Marshall offered him a gentle look, her eyes speaking volumes. Their hands, linked, tightened around each other considerably.  
  
Anya, unusually quiet, did the same with Xander's hand. The young man, at first startled by the unanticipated pressure, then looked back at his fiancée with a small yet sad smile.  
  
Eyeing the scene from her spot, Kelly just didn't know what to make of it.  
  
Everything was really confused in the nurse's head right now, but it just couldn't enter into her mind how this scared man, who'd left the innocence of youth behind barely a few years earlier, could be all the TV had gone into so much detail about.  
  
But that Cordelia girl confirmed it, the rational part of her mind remarked matter-of-factly, bringing chills to the curly-haired woman's insides. And besides, he is holding you as a hostage right now, isn't he? This time, wry sarcasm was included as well in its observation.  
  
Faith anchored her arms and wrapped them around her body, a disconcerting feeling overtaking her being at the sight of the two couples.  
  
It was hardly envy - the Slayer and loneliness had been best buds for practically an entire lifetime now. The two of them had walked hand-in-hand for almost every moment of her life, bar some rare Sunnydale ones.  
  
"Don't wanna interrupt the little love-fest you people got going here, but we've gotta think of something to do about those cops - and we better do it fast," the brunette girl said sarcastically, her hard-ass shield moving promptly into place.  
  
Anya's voice popped up, for the first time in several minutes. "Even though she's the first woman that my fiancé ever slept with, and she's with him during what should have been our honeymoon, and I'm thinking a lot about getting my former job back right now due to that, I think Faith has a point."  
  
Michael, Kelly and even Faith had odd looks on their faces at hearing that statement.  
  
After a pointed look directed at a fidgety Xander, the blonde woman continued her rant. This time with her expression harsher, "Not all cops are like Sunnydale's morons, Xander - the police will be here at any moment, and they have very nasty bullets that can injure you or parts of your body that I'd be really unhappy about losing."  
  
Xander eyed the former demoness, as brutal images of the future came into his mind in the shape of an eternal, tormenting memento.  
  
Anya looked more tense and jumpy than her usual jittery self, but he couldn't blame her for that. The young man couldn't even wonder at the confusion playing on his fiancé's mind right then.  
  
One part of his mind, the one that was seeing all over again the future image of the blonde woman's vampiric self, just wished he'd managed to not involve her at all in this nightmare; but another guilty part of him found solace in her presence.  
  
"Hey, no parts of me are getting lost here," Xander reassured her, playfully and even with a hint of boyish panic despite the situation.  
  
"They better not," Anya snorted uneasily, feeling her heart twist at the sight of her fiancé's brown eyes and the frisky, brief grin on his lips.  
  
Even though she'd so far just tried to shrug it away, the former demoness had a really bad feeling that she couldn't quite measure the nature of yet.  
  
"Like I said, let's leave the cute 'n fuzzy stuff for later and move our asses," Faith interrupted forcefully, already moving further inside the warehouse in search of an alternate exit.  
  
Penn and Marshall smartly followed the Slayer, and after some more briefly exchanged words of reassurance, Sunnydale's couple did so as well.  
  
But then, the strangest thing happened. Xander felt his whole world going black and, while the warehouse became a very vague background, another place - a misty one - got stronger and stronger in his eyes.  
  
The former Zeppo didn't hear the freshly arrived policemen's shouts at the quintet to hold it right there, or Faith's loud curse upon that happening; because for a fleeting second, he wasn't in the warehouse anymore.  
  
Rather, he was somewhere completely different.  
  
And standing in front of him with a white robe and wide hazel eyes, there was a girl whose face had once been the entire focus of his thoughts as a teenager.  
  
"Hey Xander," the brunette greeted him playfully, a perky grin on her lips.  
  
After a puzzled sigh, Xander's lips made a grin too, despite everything.  
  
"Hey, Cordy. Can't get enough of the Xand-man action, huh? Women do tend to find it addictive," he replied mockingly, walking in her direction with his hands loose in his jacket's pockets, shaking his head in a somehow amused daze.  
  
"Dream on, dorkhead," the seer retorted laughingly. The brunette's pretty features tensed at the next phrase though, "The PTB have a important message for ya, Xander. I'm just the messenger here..."  
  
***  
  
I really need a push to post more chapters, but you people just seem to have forgot me :-( Review! 


	21. Split Second

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
Xander Harris took a brief look around him. The familiar scene was one of a beach pier he had often frequented, some granted years ago, with the same girl that was standing in front of him now; nervous hazel orbs, boring into his puzzled brown ones.  
  
Cordelia Chase was dressed in a majestic white gown, with a favorably V- shaped neckline. The garment was interlaced at the waist by two crossed silver threads of chiffon; and her brunette hair, that was no longer short but long like in the old days, was in a ponytail - some locks graciously scattered along her soft skin.  
  
She looks like a goddess, Xander observed, amazed. Thankfully, not a hell-bitchy brain-sucker one.   
  
"Sooo," the dark-haired guy began uneasily. "You're some sort of spiritual ambassador now? I mean, vision thing, yeah, pfft, 'cause that was so easy to get used to," he muttered awkwardly and with an unquestionable hint of sarcasm.  
  
"Yeah, well, it comes with the sucky job of saving your lame butt," Cordy smirked as a rebuttal.  
  
Xander grinned playfully, "You used to say this lame butt was more than a little cute and, what was the word again? Oh right, yummy wasn't it?"  
  
A roll of the eyes later, "Do I have to answer that, or can I just glare at you?"  
  
"You never said it was a modest butt, after all," the dark-haired guy muttered in triumph.  
  
Xander could swear her cheeks were blushing. "Grow up, Harris," Cordy scoffed tautly.  
  
"Right. So, what's the deal here, Cordy? These mystical voodoo voyages are beginning to make me real dizzy," Xander said lamely.  
  
"This is not funny, Xander," Cordelia's eyes were fixed on the floor for a moment; they seemed to carry a rueful sadness. "And neither is what I've got to tell you..."  
  
The hazel pair of eyes came up, to meet her former boyfriend's dark ones. "There's some major badness being set up for you, Xander. Very ugly, very Hellmouth-y kind of stuff."  
  
"Really? Why didn't I notice it sooner?" the former carpenter asked sarcastically.  
  
"Lemme finish, you doofus! It's really important!" Cordelia cut him off, her voice somehow communicating despair - and not exactly subtly either. "Your life's in danger," she added quietly.  
  
Xander looked straight at her, his expression unreadable yet showing bitter amazement. "Well, yeah, tell me something I don't know, Queen C," the time- traveller replied, rather harshly.  
  
The guilt was brisk and instantaneous. "Look, Cordy, I'm sorry... I-I didn't mean it, and I know I can be a real-"  
  
"Asshole? Jerk? Imbecile?" the brunette girl hinted helpfully, her pained expression momentarily melting into an amused one, and then back to her formerly gloomy mask.  
  
"Something along those lines," Xander mumbled.  
  
Suddenly, Cordelia seemed to stare off into nothingness, seeming to be utterly engaged in some kind of silent conversation with an invisible interlocutor. Xander looked around dumbly, trying to spot the supposed person she was talking to.  
  
He found nobody.  
  
Cordelia, noticing the Sunnydale resident's confusion, clarified, "Don't bother, I'm the only one who can hear them. That can be a real pain in the ass sometimes!" she practically screamed this last line, as if intentionally directing it to somebody Xander could only figure out to be her conversationalists.  
  
The time-traveller shrugged, hands in pockets. Xander momentarily noticed his outfit wasn't stained with blood here.  
  
"So, any magical mojo working there?" the young Mr. Harris asked nonchalantly, seeing that Cordelia seemed to be again deeply engaged in a conversation he couldn't hear one word of.  
  
"Okay, okay, I got it already!" the brunette seer replied to the void, and turned to lock eyes with her former boyfriend.  
  
"Time's really an issue now," she began, her features fidgety. "There are three vamps, they're helping one of those demon uglies with the creepy silver medallion that's done the spell to frame you and Faith. Also, they're gonna send three persons into your future timeline, it seems..."  
  
"What does that mean? Who are they gonna send to the future, Cordelia?" Xander replied tensely, nearly yelling.  
  
His skin rapidly tensed, and his heartbeat entered into a frenzied speed. Images came into the young man's brain, unbidden; Buffy lying dead in his arms, Dawn's haunted silence after the brunette teenager had been rescued from Angelus, the vampire demon that had possessed Anya's corpse...  
  
It was all just too much to deal with.  
  
I can't go back to that hell, Xander thought hauntedly. I just can't.   
  
"We, we don't know for sure, but I-" the brunette cut herself off, seeming to be receiving more information from the source Xander could not see or hear.  
  
"You what? Damn it - tell me Cor, who are they gonna send, and to what date? I need to know!" This time, he was clearly yelling and barely preventing himself from shaking the seer's body violently, to make her snap out of whatever trance she was in.  
  
He needed to know. He couldn't go back to that future.  
  
"Xander, I-" a scared Cordelia whispered, unshed and frightened tears brightening her hazel orbs at his angry shouts.  
  
"Oh, shit," the former Zeppo cursed himself, running a tense hand through his dark locks of hair. "I-I'm, God Cordy, I'm so-" the cracking words couldn't leave Xander's throat.  
  
The pretty brunette softly put her finger onto Xander's lips, making him go silent immediately. Blazing hazel eyes locked with haunted brown ones, and the following moment was encapsulated by a silence filled with dread, solace, fear and peace, all at the same time.  
  
A sensation words just couldn't explain, as the former odd couple of Sunnydale shared a link so strong, so vivid and so mighty that they were both confused, frightened and, despite everything, strangely completely at ease, if just for a fleeting second.  
  
Sadly, almost regretfully, Cordelia said in an unhurried and honest way, "I'm sorry for everything you had to go through, Xander. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. I'm sorry for everything you'll have to go through soon, and I'm sorry I won't be there for you during those moments too..."  
  
The young woman could no longer contain the sorrowful tears falling down her face. "I saw Angelus killing Faith in the hospital," Cordy whispered.  
  
At Xander's shocked look, the seer proceeded softly, "The Powers only know that three people will be put under a powerful and irreversible spell - one that'll transfer the trio to the day Angel's gonna lose his soul, just a few minutes before that happens..."  
  
Cordelia paused. "It's the best that Evil could manage to do... they're relying on the hope of two of those persons failing to stop the ascension of Angelus," the brunette girl then said painfully.  
  
"Faith, me and Angel," Xander contemplated her words.  
  
"That's what I thought too," Cordelia replied. "It's the best possible fit - and the three of you are near each other now, from what I was told by the PTBs."  
  
"Cordy..."  
  
"You've gotta stop him, Xander," the brunette finished up, in a voice so low and hopeless Xander was amazed he could hear it at all. "Don't let the bastard do that to Angel..."  
  
"I won't," the former construction worker replied, but couldn't help the twist of unease in his heart.  
  
"I swear by all that's holy I won't," Xander repeated once more as a whisper, this time locked in a deep hug with Cordelia - who was sobbing against his chest.  
  
And before the former Zeppo could register anything else, he was once again in the warehouse, his absence unnoticed by everyone; for his mind had been in the PTB's parallel universe, for less than a second.  
  
***  
  
I'm sorry, this is rather short. More to come soon. Review me! Thank you so much for all the kind reviews, BTW... I really love ya all! 


	22. Beyond Repair

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
"What's going on?" Dawn's voice sounded taut and troubled. "Why are they saying these things about Xander and Faith?"  
  
Tara glanced quickly at her. "W-we've got to go find the others," the blonde Wiccan said, ignoring Dawn's question.  
  
"My legs," Willow whispered abruptly; her hands all of a sudden shaky, trying to find the surface of St. Matthew's waiting room chairs. Sitting down slowly, the redhead shot a troubled look to Dawn, and then Tara. "Suddenly, I-I can't feel them..."  
  
Tara ran to her girlfriend's side. "Baby, come on, we'll find Buffy and everyone else. W-we have to find out what's happened with Xander..."  
  
"Before the cops do," Dawn added nervously. "'Cause they've got guns," the teen then added sheepishly, looking down and seeming scared. "Big, scary guns..."  
  
Tara glanced at the brunette girl and tried to put out a kind smile, but knew she was failing miserably through and through. Then the blonde woman mildly pushed her lover to stand up, and put two gentle hands on each side of the redhead's head, locking eyes with the petite former hacker.  
  
"Willow, we've gotta go," Tara whispered, her silky forehead connecting with her girlfriend's one. "Whatever they're accusing Xander of, we know it can't be true, right? Because he would never do something like this, w-we both know that much..."  
  
"It's Faith," Willow cried out in a pained undertone. "It has to be Faith!"  
  
"But Faith wasn't with Xander when he-" Dawn cut herself off, grabbing the newspaper that was laying on a chair, from which they'd found out about Xander's and Faith's illegal activities on the streets of LA.  
  
"She wasn't with him then," the Slayer's young sister pointed out. "When the cops said he did what he did."  
  
While saying this last line, the teen's gaze wandered along the floor, a frown on her face - as she was unable to voice out loud that Xander had actually killed a street bum, and hurt Cordelia.  
  
"She's right," Tara agreed. "Dawnie, could you go find Anya?"  
  
The brunette nodded and left, and the young Wiccan then turned her attention back to her girlfriend. "We're going now, OK sweetheart? We've got to help Xander now, all right?"  
  
Willow nodded sheepishly, holding back the unshed tears and biting her trembling lips.  
  
"I've got a bad feeling about this," the former witch confessed painfully. "I didn't wanna say I had it, 'cause maybe, you know, it'd just go away, but it won't! And it's growing, I can sense it, and I just can't stop feeling it. Why won't it go away? Why, Tara?"  
  
"A bad feeling? What exactly-"  
  
"I don't know! All I know is something bad is gonna happen and it'll happen soon and we have to stop it!"  
  
At this point, Willow's babbling made tears form in Tara's eyes as well. She wanted to say everything would be all right, but the older woman couldn't lie to her beloved at a time like this.  
  
And it was at that precise moment, when her eyes were boring into her girlfriend's sea-green ones, that a distraught woman who was no older than they were bumped against them - and almost sent everybody tumbling to the floor.  
  
***  
  
Cordelia's mind snapped out of the trance she had fallen into, after the Powers-That-Be had arranged that conference for her and Xander - in a time that had lasted less than a second in this dimension.  
  
The seer found that she was still staring at the door of her hospital room, the very same one she had been laying in bed in barely a few minutes ago.  
  
And, Cordy painfully recollected, where Angel was laying unconscious, due to a blow she herself had administered before the Powers had managed to restore her memory and free her from the demonic silver medallion's illusory spell.  
  
The brunette girl's mind was assaulted with a thought that was, at the same time, scary and painstaking. She knew now what was going to happen, the inevitable prophecy that was soon to come to pass - and Cordelia realized she had the chance to stop it right there, right then.  
  
It was a grotesque idea, a painful and probably stupid one; but deep down, Cordy knew it was the right thing to do. It would not only guarantee the world's safety once and for all, but also release - if just a little - the horror staining Xander's soul, and Faith's as well.  
  
Xander... the seer remembered, with a hint of sadness. She didn't know why exactly, but being with him in the PTB's parallel universe had made her feel his pain and the burden the time-traveler was carrying with him.  
  
And jeez, Cordy! You had to go all Crazy Girl on him, pointing fingers and shouting that he did stuff to you? Things that you *knew* your former boyfriend would never do? It's a miracle Xander doesn't hate you! Some help you've been, the brunette rebuked herself, knowing it was the spell's fault but feeling guilty nevertheless.  
  
Focusing back on the here and now, Cordelia knew she owed this to her vampiric friend and comrade-in-arms - becoming his evil alter ego, Angelus, wasn't just everyone else's nightmare, but also Angel's own greatest one.  
  
But could she really do this? Was Cordelia Chase really that pragmatic? And, most important of all, was she strong enough to stake the vampire she had grown to love and respect as not only an ally in this endless good fight, but as a friend and confidant?  
  
There were just too many why's and wherefore's, too many questions; the brunette seer didn't feel like she could handle it all. Slowly, practically absent-mindedly, the girl opened the door with great gentleness.  
  
Cordelia knew that the fact she had managed to knock Angel unconscious had been due to a mix of several things. First of all, it really had been a lucky shot; and, also, the complete surprise of such an act and the lack of recognition of Cordelia as an enemy to Angel's danger sense had helped as well.  
  
But then again Cordelia's strength, even if purposely and strategically directed at Angel's head in order to send him to la-la land, wasn't powerful enough to knock him out for a very long time.  
  
When the brunette stepped back inside the room, her body and mind moving along on some kind of automatic pilot, she heard a groan, and then saw a slight movement of the souled vampire's arm.  
  
She cringed, and took an unconscious step back.  
  
"I can't do this," Cordelia murmured, shaking her head vehemently as if in a trance. "God, I so can't do this!"  
  
In the seer's absent-minded staggering back, her still-damaged back met the room's wall, and the brunette's lips let out a sudden yelp.  
  
And that was when Cordelia's eyes spotted a wooden chair.  
  
Still on automatic pilot, the brunette girl kicked it with all the strength she could muster, breaking it into five solid pieces; including one of the legs, complete with a sharp terminus.  
  
Staring at the unexpected stake in her hands, Cordelia gulped. With unhurried and fearful steps, the seer advanced towards the unconscious vampire's figure.  
  
Another groan came out of Angel's lips, but for some reason, Cordelia didn't step back this time. A serene, pained wave of quiet seemed to wash over her soul, as her hand was lifted up into the air.  
  
The stake held and pointed at Angel's chest, straight at the heart.  
  
A single tear fell out of her right hazel orb, and the seer closed her eyes tightly.  
  
And then, Cordelia let her hand fall down in a rush.  
  
***  
  
The end is in sight! Review me, or else I'll stop right here! Jokes apart... I wanna clarify some things: I started this fic really soon, so I missed almost every S6/3 events... so, there's no Connor, Xander and Anya aren't married yet, but he didn't have plans to run this time... 


	23. Back To The Future

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
***  
  
"I can't," Cordelia whispered at last, lowering the piece of wood at the final possible moment.  
  
Caught by a sudden panic attack, the young seer dropped the stake and started to breathe heavily, gasping oxygen in and out. She closed her eyes tightly, almost squeezing her eyeballs to a pulp as a sudden yelp of rage and pain came out of her lips.  
  
And that was when an impromptu blaze of light completely filled the room with its effulgent splendor, its duration impetuous, quick and oddly fascinating to the injured woman.  
  
When the mystical lightshow came to an end, a shivering Cordelia opened her eyes and felt no surprise at finding out that Angel was gone. But still she let out another pained yelp when her hazel eyes scanned the room and, despite herself, found it empty.  
  
I'll never see him again, Cordelia thought, partially mesmerized. He'll never save my ass from the wicked nasties again, he'll never be there to catch me when I collapse from a vision again, I'll never get to make fun of his gel-less bed hair ever again...   
  
She staggered back awkwardly, her back once more slamming against the wall. This time though, the brunette girl absent-mindedly ignored the pain that it caused her.  
  
That was when an even darker realization hit her, causing a soundless scream of horror and regret to be born in her throat.  
  
She had failed.  
  
Cordelia had missed her shot to release Angel's soul and thus, had opened the door for Angelus' ascension into the world.  
  
She had failed with Xander and Faith as well. Now the two time-travelers didn't have other choice, but to stain their already soiled souls even more - by killing the doomed champion for the Powers, the vampire with a soul known as Angel.  
  
And if they failed, not from her kind of cowardly weakness but because this whole setup was already arranged for their downfall, the end of the world would be brought about as well.  
  
And next thing Cordelia knew was her legs, disoriented and tottering though they were, were carrying her off as fast as they could until she bumped into two young women.  
  
"C-cordy?" she heard the cracked voice of the familiar redhead, her wide ocean-green eyes blurry and red, calling to her.  
  
***  
  
[At the same time, in the warehouse near St. Matthew's]  
  
Xander Harris snapped out of his mystical trance. And his mind briefly wandered through the conversation he'd just had with Cordelia Chase, and also the happenings of the previous hellish few weeks.  
  
The former construction worker quickly realized nobody had noticed his absence. And then he spotted the arrival of a massive police presence, something probably between twenty and thirty armed cops.  
  
A well-built, dark-haired man took one step forward, bringing a police bullhorn to his lips.  
  
His voice was rough and firm when he started yelling, "This is the police! Release your hostages, put your weapons down and come out with your hands up! Otherwise, we will open fire immediately!" the forty-something policeman informed the Slayer and the former Zeppo.  
  
"With b-bullets?" Anya suddenly babbled, looking to Xander and then at her belly, absent-mindedly massaging it. "Don't aim at me and him!" the former demoness yelled out nervously, with a taut wave of her hand.  
  
After Xander briefly grinned weakly and gripped Anya's hand strongly, a look was exchanged between him and the brunette Slayer. Her eyes, indicating tenseness and agitation and utterly alertness; his eyes though, an unexpected coolness and confidence.  
  
'Trust me,' the dark-haired warrior for the Powers mouthed to her, and Faith couldn't help but to nod in acquiescence.  
  
That is, until the brunette girl saw an incomprehensible look on his face. Plus Xander releasing his fiancée's hand and walking out, with his hands up and obviously ready to give himself over to the cops.  
  
What the hell is he doing? the confused Slayer wondered briefly, following him and knowing that they really didn't have time for this.  
  
Because in her experience, Slayer powers or not, escaping from jail is not like taking candy from a baby - not at all, not in any way, shape or form. And even though Faith had escaped thus recently, she'd had the advantage of it being an unexpected occurrence, and not having a freaking army of policemen waiting with guns pointing everywhere.  
  
Anya was equally wide-eyed, and one could not tell if her expression showed a certain relief for his surrender and thus, his at least momentary safety from getting shot by an overeager cop. Or if she was just even more apprehensive and scared about the possibility of her fiancé being taken away by LA's finest, who nowadays did have a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later.  
  
Kelly and Michael, responding by pure instinct, just dived behind a large and dusty wooden crate and wisely stayed there.  
  
"What the heck's he doing?" the blond-haired nurse muttered bewildered, as the doctor just shook his head, equally confused.  
  
"I've got no idea," Penn whispered back. "The right thing?" he added tentatively, but then instantly shook his head once more.  
  
"Or maybe the most stupid one possible," Nurse Marshall replied, with a sober and fearful intonation.  
  
"We surrender!" Xander suddenly screamed, catching the attention of the two medical personnel once more, as well as everyone else's too.  
  
Everyone's expression but his own, could only be described as pure dumb amazement. Some cops exchanged confused glances amongst themselves, wondering if this was some sort of trick.  
  
Xander, seemingly a little relieved that the cops had decided to back off a little at his sudden announcement, advanced cautiously and stopped a few meters away from Faith, exchanging a glance with her before returning his attention to the bluesuits.  
  
His tone was imprinted with sarcasm, at everybody's looks at the unexpected surrender. "Yep, you heard me - what the hell, you'll even be able to make it back to the station before "24" starts, isn't that just neat?"  
  
The copper-skinned dark-haired cop, who was the most senior officer-in- charge, looked more annoyed than disconcerted when he stepped forward and yelled again in that rough, commanding voice, "Put the gun on the ground, raise your hands and walk slowly to where I'm standing! Now!"  
  
A pause. "We've got police snipers on the nearby roofs, so don't try anything funny or I won't hesitate to order them to open fire!" he added sharply.  
  
"Guns down and hands up; gotcha, Mr. Police Officer," Xander replied a little awkwardly, and eyed Faith by his side pointedly with a lame grin. "Don't we, Bonnie?"  
  
Faith almost gasped, maintaining a tight grip on her gun. "No, we don't, Clyde," the Slayer snapped, sounding rather annoyed with what could only be described as a childish pout.  
  
As the cops seemed to go on high alert once more at the brunette's apparent reluctance to give herself up, the firearms were promptly aimed at the time- travelers once again.  
  
"Yes we do, 'cause you've got to trust me," the dark-haired guy said slowly, as you would say to a little child to make her understand something - very tensely too.  
  
"Which seems pretty hard to do right now," the Slayer grunted once more, but finally gave in, smirking at Xander. "I swear, I hope you know what you're doing, boy toy," the brunette whispered to her partner.  
  
Before Xander could say anything, he felt Anya's hand clasping his arm. He turned, surprised that she had followed them out.  
  
"I don't know what the heck you're doing, but I trust you 'cause you're supposed to trust in the person you're gonna marry unless they disappear on their wedding day which you still haven't explained by the way," the blonde girl said in one breath, and frowned as the words left her throat.  
  
She tried again, "I mean, I'm gonna trust you 'cause you're the guy I love, and I learnt with you that that can mean so much more than you just giving me orgasms, which really makes my day and I've got absolutely no complaints about..."  
  
At her next words, the former demoness' voice held a hint of disquietude and fear, as she slightly cringed, "Tell me you'll be back to do those amazing things you do with your tongue? Tell me that you'll be alright - tell me that this'll all end happily ever after?"  
  
Xander's glance fell to the ground. And the sad whisper, accented by a hint of remorse, came when his brown orbs ruefully looked back at her. "I can't do that, Ahn. I'm sorry."  
  
Their hands detached, and Anya's eyes were suddenly blurry as she smiled a devastated, disoriented small smile. "But... but you didn't even see my wedding dress!"  
  
The memories of that white leather outfit, both painful and blissful, flashed through Xander's mind. As well as the bittersweet marriage that the time-traveler had actually experienced, in that other timeline.  
  
The thin grin he sent his beloved was a grievous one. "I'm sure you looked ravishing in it."  
  
The mass of policemen, that seemed to look more than a little unsure of what to do at the unheard dialogue, still had their guns firmly pointed at Faith and Xander.  
  
However, the rough officer-in-charge was yelling at them to knock it off and get moving; the middle-aged cop was getting more and more impatient with the delays. Given how Xander and Anya seemed unaware of his threats and lost in their own little world, the brunette Slayer touched the dark- haired guy's shoulder.  
  
"C'mon, let's go," Faith said gently, in a way that felt a little out-of- character to her old bitchy self.  
  
Xander walked away slowly, his glance locked with Anya's as the blonde woman tried to hold back her tears - her features were a mix of disconsolation, numbness and momentary anger.  
  
Looking at the couple with a slight hint of reflection of Anya's features, the brunette Slayer finally lowered her gun.  
  
Promptly, one bluesuit roughly handcuffed the Slayer, twisting her arms behind her back. Like Faith, Xander offered no resistance as the copper- skinned rough cop did the same to him.  
  
The two time-travelers exchanged one last look, as Faith seemed to ask her partner, 'now what?'  
  
And the unasked question was soon answered, after the dark-haired cop started yelling, "You have the right to remain silent! Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..."  
  
Because at that moment, to everybody's amazement, a powerful blast of white light gripped the outside of the old warehouse, shiny flashes of blinding radiation exploding everywhere.  
  
And when it was over? As the cops recovered their vision, groaning in pain after what had inexplicably happened, just like with a magician's trick... Faith and Xander simply weren't there anymore.  
  
***  
  
TBC. Review me, and I'll probably update sooner... Yep, Bolo was right - a review junker here! 


	24. Let The Games Begin

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: FROM NOW ON, THIS STORY'S BEING WRITTEN BY JANE MCCARTNEY AND STAIRWAY MAN.  
  
Chapter 24:  
  
How do you define complete and utter hopelessness? When you feel like nothing you say or do, can or will make any difference? When you wonder, "what's the point of anything?"  
  
For Cordelia Chase, once-reluctant seer and former bitchy Queen of Sunnydale High, the personification of that utterly horrible feeling of having no hope... was her first serious boyfriend, Xander Harris.  
  
Ever since the time-traveler had come back into her life a short while ago, everything had gone from bad to worse for the former cheerleader.  
  
She had lied to her friends - the people she now considered her family. She had gotten stabbed, and almost killed, by a demon. She had accused an innocent man - Xander, the guy who had actually saved her - of that crime. And now she had failed to stop the end of the world, by not killing Angel; who was destined to lose his soul, and drown the planet in blood.  
  
Talk about having a bad 48 hours.  
  
"Cordy?" the girl heard someone with a familiar voice say. "Are, are you alright?"  
  
Looking up from the floor, the brunette saw Willow Rosenberg staring down at her in the hospital corridor. A blonde that she didn't know was at Willow's side. "Willow? How did you - and, uh, who's your friend?"  
  
"I, I'm Tara Maclay," the girl said in a slow, almost stuttering voice.  
  
"Yeah, she's my girlfriend," the redheaded hacker supplied eagerly. Then her features changed, "Cordy, what are you doing out of bed? We, we heard that you were hurt real bad..."  
  
"Never mind that," the messenger for the Powers grunted, as she stood up after having collided with the witches. "I, uh, we need to get back to the hotel..."  
  
All of a sudden, Dawn Summers came racing down the hallway. "Guys! Guys! I just heard..." Then the young woman stopped, as soon as she saw Cordelia. "Cordelia? Oh wow..."  
  
"What did you just hear, Dawnie?" Tara asked gently, as Cordelia nodded absently to the new arrival, her mind on other things.  
  
"Oh, that!" the former Key yelped quickly. "Xander and Faith! There's a load of people that've been brought in, to be treated for temporary blindness. Apparently the cops tried to arrest them, but they just disappeared! Poof, in a flash of light - just like that!"  
  
Cordelia groaned in pain, the misery of her failure hitting her like a pile of bricks. "It's started... it's started..."  
  
"What is it, Cordy?" Willow asked at once. "I, we'll get a doctor..."  
  
"NO!" the former ruler of Sunnydale fashion shouted, then meekly apologized, "I mean, sorry, but we got an 'end-of-the-world' thing to deal with first. Just like high school... so nothing else matters now..."  
  
***  
  
Cordelia, Dawn, Willow and Tara quickly took a taxi back to the Hyperion hotel, after the brunette girl signed herself out of St. Matthew's. The doctors almost refused to let her go, as she was barely off the critical list - but then, Cordy wasn't the former imperious Queen C of Sunnydale for nothing.  
  
All through the cab ride, the other girls tried to get her to talk to them; but Cordy had seemed to sink into a deep, almost limitless depression, and for once in her life didn't want to chat. All she told them was that Xander, Faith and Angel were in big trouble, it was a long story and that she only wanted to tell it once.  
  
This worried Dawn Summers a lot.  
  
The brunette teenager was mostly quiet during the trip, because even though nobody else realized it right then... Dawn suddenly understood that this was the first time in her life, that she had ever actually met Cordelia Chase.  
  
Oh, of course Spike's li'l bit remembered the head cheerleader; she had known of the girl practically ever since the first day the Summers women had arrived in Sunnydale. And in the past, Dawn had always looked up to Cordy for her fashion sense, but had also been incredibly jealous of her when she'd started dating her former crush, Xander.  
  
But all those memories were fakes, planted by those monks; because Miss 'I- can't-live-poor-in-Sunnydale' Chase had left town after Graduation, and Dawn had never really met her until now.  
  
And the bottom line was, the former Key didn't know how she felt about that.  
  
Fortunately, everyone else had plenty of other things on their minds. The ride to the hotel was over soon, and after paying off the driver all four women headed inside to find the others.  
  
"Wesley? Gunn? Fred?" Cordelia shouted, as they entered the lounge. "Are you guys here?"  
  
The Fang Gang quickly came out, and rushed over to her. Fred instantly grabbed Cordy into a big hug, "Cordelia! Gosh! We were all so worried!"  
  
Cordelia moaned in pain. "Fred! Stab wound here! Watch it!"  
  
"Oh, sorry!" the Texan girl let go with a sheepish grin.  
  
"Cordelia, thank heavens you're safe," Wesley said in his English accent. Then he hugged her, much more gently than the Texan girl.  
  
"Yeah, damn, it's good to see ya!" Gunn also quickly embraced her and stepped back. "Thank God, that psycho asshole Harris didn't kill you..."  
  
The black man stopped, suddenly aware of the temperature dropping and the furious gazes the women had started sending him. "What?" he asked in amazement. "He tried to stake Angel, and he tried to off you! Heard he's been diagnosed a nut case, so just calling 'em as I see 'em here..."  
  
Dawn, Willow and Tara looked ready to kill the former gang leader, but Cordelia stepped forward and invaded Gunn's personal space. "Gunn?" she said in a sweetly evil voice.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You don't actually know a thing about what's really happened, so just for now why don't you try to keep your big mouth shut?!" she screamed the last words right into his face.  
  
The young vampire hunter looked amazed and hurt at Cordy's attitude, and was just about to start yelling back at her when he felt a soft hand touch his arm. He looked around, and saw Fred silently telling him to drop it.  
  
Gunn shrugged, as the fact was that Miss Burkle held a great deal of influence over him. "Whatever..."  
  
Anya then arrived at the hotel, and looked around for Dawn, Willow and Tara. "Why did you guys leave without me?" the blonde demanded, when she came into the lounge.  
  
The other three had no good answer, until Dawn had the bright idea of saying, "Cordelia made us come with her?"  
  
Anya looked at the woman in question. "Is that true?"  
  
Cordelia looked at this person, who had taken her place in Xander's life. Fighting off a sudden rush of desperate jealousy, she tried to think of something to say; but in the end, couldn't summon up the energy for it and eventually just went with the truth.  
  
"I guess so. Sorry - I, uh, I was pretty desperate to find Wesley and the others at the time..."  
  
The former demoness looked right back at Cordy. Anya then knew, absolutely knew beyond any doubt, that something was going on with her Xander and this woman. For once in her life, though, the former Anyanka decided to ignore whatever it was for now and just deal with it later.  
  
"I see. Oh!" Anya looked around at the others, as Buffy, Giles and Spike joined the group. "Xander and Faith have disappeared!"  
  
"Yeah, I know! I heard that too!" Dawn quickly said.  
  
Anya looked annoyed. "It was my news to tell!"  
  
"Was not!"  
  
"Was too!"  
  
"Was not!"  
  
"Hey, knock it off! Look, it's part of what I have to tell you guys," Cordelia sighed, and then sat down as her wound started aching. "Everyone sit down, it's gonna be a long story..."  
  
***  
  
[A short while later]  
  
"So there you have it," Cordy finished up the long, incredible tale with a sigh. "The Powers That Be restored my memory, Xander Faith and Angel have been sent to the future, and the whole world's in big, big, trouble unless we can figure out how to stop Angelus showing up."  
  
There was a stunned silence, as all the members of the Fang Gang and the Scoobies tried to take all the facts in. And, figure out a way to politely tell the brunette girl that she was crazy.  
  
"You're crazy," Anya was the only one with the guts and tactlessness to say it out loud.  
  
"No, I'm not. I know it's tempting to think I am, but I'm not..."  
  
"Yes, you are. Just who do you think you're dealing with here?" Anya stated angrily. "I'm not an idiot! None of us are, and none of that is true. It can't be! You're a liar!"  
  
The young seer's patience was exhausted. "And people say *I'm* tactless..." the girl snarled as she glared at Xander's betrothed.  
  
Fred looked around and began to stammer, "Uh, guys? I just wanna say, we-we shouldn't just dismiss everything Cordy told us out of hand. I mean, ya know, time travel's possible, even without magic..."  
  
Everyone looked at her in amazement. "Oh, yeah! 'Cause, 'cause, I *was* a physics major before the big swirly portal thing dumped me into Pylea, remember? Professor Oliver Seidel and me, we had some long conversations about it back then..."  
  
"Oh, come on!" Gunn sneered. "Is everyone trippin' out on weed here or what? I mean demons and magic yeah, I get that; but when did this all turn into a whack-job version of 'Back To The Future'?"  
  
As everyone started arguing, Giles and Wesley looked at each other. Silently nodding, the ex-Watchers quickly withdrew into Wes's private office and the younger British man shut the door.  
  
"Good bloody Lord, is it always like this?" Giles asked his compatriot wearily.  
  
Wesley smiled painfully. "Yes, Mr. Giles, I'm afraid so..."  
  
Rupert interrupted him, "For Heaven's sake Wesley, don't do that! We've known each other for years, plus we're not with the Council anymore; this is no time to stand on formality. Call me Rupert..."  
  
"As you wish," the man shrugged and took off his glasses. He started rubbing them, as Giles unconsciously started to do the same thing. "Well, Rupert, this is a fine mess, I-I must say..."  
  
"Quite. What do you propose we do - assuming Cordelia is telling the truth?"  
  
"I'm open to suggestions..."  
  
There was a long pause, as Giles looked at the head of Angel Investigations. "First off, we start researching. Especially this prophecy she mentioned that Xander told her; it, it's got to be referenced somewhere. But apart from that..." he let out a long sigh. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  
  
"I hope not," Wesley sighed too.  
  
"Come on, man, let's not kid ourselves. Remember that oath we swore, after graduating the Academy? If Cordelia's story checks out, the odds are... we're going to have to kill Angel..."  
  
*** 


	25. The Peace of Wild Things

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: FROM NOW ON, THIS STORY'S BEING WRITTEN BY JANE MCCARTNEY AND STAIRWAY MAN.  
  
***  
  
[A few hours later]  
  
The police lieutenant named Harlan was not having a good day.  
  
Ever since this murder case involving Lance Randolph a.k.a. 'Neil Diamond' had been dropped into his lap by the brass, the LAPD detective had been completely, thoroughly and monstrously overworked.  
  
This guy Xander Harris - the prime suspect - and, apparently someone named Faith Adams, had been on the verge of capture, abruptly and surprisingly deciding to surrender themselves to the cops at a warehouse near St. Matthew's hospital. When all of a sudden, everything had gone completely nuts.  
  
And now all Harlan had was the insane testimony of the bluesuits present, that maybe aliens had come down and abducted the fugitives in a blaze of white light or something - plus, the story from the so-called hostages, Dr. Michael Penn and Nurse Kelly Marshall.  
  
The middle-aged cop knew that there *had* been an unidentified third person present, a blonde woman; but she had quickly disappeared while all of L.A.'s finest were still out of it, and without even a good description of her that angle was pretty much a dead end.  
  
Harlan turned around, and stared at the one person he hoped would be able to make sense out of this mess for him; one of his ex-detectives, Kate Lockley.  
  
Now, Ms. Lockley had become something of a legendary story at the LAPD. She was tough, capable, had been on the fast track up the ladder of success, and the smart money would have said that in a few more years - she would have become the police captain of the precinct.  
  
But then her father had died.  
  
And the blonde woman had practically gone crazy afterwards, chasing after any weird case that had come to the attention of the police force.  
  
Harlan hadn't enjoyed helping terminate her, after she'd pulled one-too- many stunts involving illegal procedure with some guy always dressed in black. But he had done it anyway, and it had been the end of their friendship.  
  
Now however, the lieutenant had been given enough authority so that he was able to bring her back on board to solve this murder. And maybe, just maybe, restore the trust and friendship.  
  
Kate looked back at Harlan, and made a subtle gesture to leave her alone with the witnesses. Frustrated at getting nowhere, he quickly agreed and left the interrogation room.  
  
Ms. Lockley shoved some drinks towards Michael and Kelly, and told them in a neutral tone of voice, "You must be tired and thirsty, here drink up..."  
  
The doctor and the nurse nodded their thanks, and gratefully took a long, cooling sip of that wonderful, delicious amber liquid. It wasn't beer, but after the long session with the police interrogators it was almost as good.  
  
"How much longer are we gonna be?" Nurse Marshall suddenly asked. "I mean, I wanna go home and take a shower, I'm literally stinking here..."  
  
"Same with me," Dr. Penn cut in, as he looked at his watch. "Although, huh, our shift at the hospital is almost due to start now..."  
  
"Oh no," groaned the nurse. "I can't! Dr. Lewis is so gonna fire me, if I show up for work smelling like this!"  
  
"Hey, you smell fine to me," Michael sent her a sly and punctilicious glance, as the curly-haired nurse blushed to her roots and looked down.  
  
"If we could get back to business?" Kate asked impatiently, trying to ignore the subtle courtship byplay thing. "Now, if we could just go over..."  
  
"How many times do you want us to give you the same answers?" Michael cut her off, annoyed. "Are ya trying to catch us out in a lie, or something? We already told you, we don't know what happened! We were in that warehouse, when those two decided to surrender. After that, we don't have a clue!"  
  
Kate looked thoughtful, and suddenly and abruptly switched off the tape recorder. Michael looked stunned, "Why did you-?"  
  
"We have some things to say, that are not police business," the ex-cop said seriously. "Now, I'm sure you two haven't been entirely truthful here-"  
  
"Yes we have!" the two medical people chorused.  
  
"Bull! I *know* you've left out some stuff - because either you think it's crazy, or that no one will believe you. But listen to me; I'm not a cop anymore, mostly on account of I've seen too much of what *really* goes on in this city..."  
  
Kate looked impassioned, "I'm just doing a favour for truth, justice and the American way here, OK? Anything you can tell me off the record about these two, this Xander and Faith. Anything at all that'll help me solve Lance Randolph's murder? It'll be just between us..."  
  
There was the long, dramatic silence thing. And just as Kelly opened her mouth to tell the other blonde all she had heard at the hospital and the warehouse - that Xander and Faith had come back from the future, to save the world from Evil - Harlan came back into the room.  
  
No, damn it! Kate thought angrily. Lieu, I swear your timing truly and completely sucks!   
  
"You two can go home," the older cop said roughly to the doctor and the nurse. "And Kate, seems that we don't need your help any longer."  
  
What?! the other three people in the room thought.  
  
"What's going on?" Michael was the first to express what the trio was all silently thinking.  
  
"Xander Harris is no longer a suspect in this murder case," the policeman practically growled in disgust. "A witness has come forward, claiming that she was with him during the time we've estimated that the killing took place."  
  
"Who?" asked Kelly in amazement.  
  
"Cordelia Chase, his supposed second victim..."  
  
***  
  
Cordy quickly left the police station after making her statement to the cops, and rushed back to Angel's car - where Anya was waiting for her. "How did it go?" the former demoness asked the seer.  
  
"Not that well, but good enough," Cordy said painfully, rubbing her wound as she got into the driver's seat. "Xander's in the clear, they're only after Faith now for escaping jail. It would have helped if you'd come along and made your own statement, ya know..."  
  
"I told you no way, and I meant it!" Anya said sharply. "Those cops and their huge, evil, trigger-happy guns? They make me very nervous. And besides, I didn't want them asking me why I ran away after what happened to Xander and Faith..."  
  
A pause. "So what exactly did you say?" the blonde inquired, as the car sped off into the traffic.  
  
"That Xander was innocent," Cordelia shrugged. "That I was confused in the hospital, the gang on PCP that attacked us must have slipped me something to give me hallucinations - but that it's worn off now, and I can remember everything clearly."  
  
She shrugged again. "It's actually the truth, apart from the PCP thing..."  
  
"What about the so-called witnesses, who said they saw Xander at the scene?"  
  
The ex-Sunnydale girl smiled a dangerous, shark-like grin. "Funny thing, but the spell's effects didn't hold up when I demanded to know who these witnesses were. When they looked at their paperwork again, they eventually discovered some inconsistencies..."  
  
"Fine. Now, what's going on with you and Xander?" Anya suddenly demanded bluntly, causing Cordelia to look at her.  
  
And almost causing an accident to happen, as the huge blast of a truck's air horn thundered magnificently in the street - making Cordy slam down on the brakes, to avoid a collision.  
  
Cursing softly, the brunette seer veered out from the snarling mess of cars and quickly parked along the side of the street. "What's that supposed to mean?" Cordelia asked her companion in a way-angry tone.  
  
"You know perfectly well," Anya practically spat out. "If you're thinking of trying to get your ex-boyfriend back, forget it! Xander's mine, we're gonna get married after this so-ridiculous fiasco is over. And I'm willing to fight you to keep him, if I have to..."  
  
Cordelia was stunned. "Are you completely-?"  
  
"Hey! Right now, I'm supposed to be in Aruba with my husband on our honeymoon - but instead, I'm stuck here in this ugly-looking car with you! I've seen that look on your face before, with a thousand cheating women, so I just want to know the truth; did you do anything with my Xander?"  
  
By this time, the ex-cheerleader was so angry that she just blurted out the truth. "Yeah, we kissed!"  
  
Anya's eyes went wide. "Oh, that's it! As soon as I get my powers back, I'm gonna vengeance both your asses!"  
  
So saying, she grabbed hold of Cordelia's hair and started pulling; and so of course, the former Queen C did the same thing and the cat-fight was on.  
  
"Look, Mom! Two women are fighting!" a kid in a passing station wagon yelled, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.  
  
"Give me a break," the mother just muttered to herself, as they passed the Angel-mobile.  
  
"I can't believe Xander would do that!" Anya yelled, as they kept on tussling. "He kissed you? Oh, and I bet he kissed Faith as well! When we were surrounded by those evil cops, I just *knew* she was looking him at him all funny!"  
  
The brunette seer had calmed down enough to tell the whole truth now, though. "OK, OK, stop! Look, I kissed Xander; but it wasn't the other way around, all right? He pushed me away, like at once. And Faith? Come on, she tried to kill him that time, remember?! You were right before, he is yours now..."  
  
Slowly the hair-fight stopped, and the two women let go of each other. "Really?" Anya asked in a solemn, heart-breaking tone of voice, and a strangely hopeful expression on her face.  
  
"Yeah, really," Cordelia sighed. "But only because I was dumb enough to give him up, all those years ago! And just for the record?" she then said in a snarky voice, as the brunette pointed to the engagement ring on Anya's hand. "If I had never left Sunnydale, that would have been *my* ring that you're wearing..."  
  
Anya just snorted in disbelief, as the car started up again and they headed back to the hotel and the others. "Pfttt..."  
  
*** 


	26. No Way Out

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: FROM NOW ON, THIS STORY'S BEING WRITTEN BY JANE MCCARTNEY AND STAIRWAY MAN. [Later that night]  
  
The Angelites and the Scoobies had spent most of the day researching, and come up with a few things to explain what was going on.  
  
To be more accurate, Wesley had been the one to determine what sort of demons they were dealing with - based on Fred's story of her friend Ricky, the medallion they had as evidence, and Cordy's descriptions.  
  
"I don't think there's any doubt about it," the dark-haired Englishman said to everyone, as he showed a book to the messenger for the Powers. "Cordelia, are these the demons that attacked you?"  
  
The ex-Sunnydale resident shivered in fear and disgust, at seeing their deadly image faithfully etched onto the ancient paper. "Oh yeah..."  
  
Wesley just looked insufferably pleased with himself. "I thought so! The description you gave, the weapons Xander used to kill them - even the official report on Ricky Gloove that Willow hacked for us! We're dealing with Kohra demons here..."  
  
"Uh, what's a Kohra demon, exactly?" Fred asked nervously.  
  
"They're bloody well bad news, pet," Spike interjected venomously.  
  
Giles nodded, agreeing with the soulless vampire for once. "A highly deadly threat, i-in my opinion. They're, they're agents of darkness - an offshoot of the Mohra demon race. Highly intelligent, very vicious..."  
  
Dawn then said uncertainly, "Uh, Giles? If these demons are responsible for it all... I just remembered - you mentioned something before we left Sunnydale, about why Xander was acting so un-Xanderish...?"  
  
The man looked somewhat embarrassed, "Yes, well. My mistake - I, er, thought he'd been possessed by that hyena spirit again, but that's now obviously so not the case..."  
  
The ex-Watcher then looked at Cordelia in a strange way. "You're, um, very lucky to be alive, you know - those demons are not only irredeemably evil, but also love going for needless killing..."  
  
"Hooray for me," the girl just angrily shrugged the news aside. "Now, what about Angel, Faith and Xander?"  
  
The two Brits looked at each other. "Well..." Wesley started to say.  
  
"Cordy, nobody's been able to find any trace of this prophecy that you mentioned," Willow tried to say apologetically.  
  
"Yeah, we've l-looked everywhere," Tara then said. She looked around at the others, and saw that they all had the same grim expressions on their faces; apart from Lorne, who was not present, on account of some trouble at his club.  
  
"That doesn't make any sense!" the seer denied it angrily. "A prophecy's a prophecy! Someone had to have written it down somewhere, or how else would Xander have known about it? Maybe we don't have the right books-"  
  
"Or else the guy coulda been lying," Gunn offered neutrally, as Anya and Cordelia instantly glared at him. "I'm just saying..."  
  
"There *is* another possibility," Fred then chimed in, as everybody looked at her. "I'm just saying."  
  
"What is it?" Buffy demanded immediately, desperate for all of this not to be happening. She glanced over at Dawn, who had not said anything so far; and the two sisters just knew what the other was thinking.  
  
This is a freaking nightmare.   
  
"Well, it's a time-travel thing," Fred tried to explain in her own crazy goony-bird way. "Now, now, if this Xander guy has come from the future..."  
  
"He has!" Cordy almost yelled. "So has Faith! I had the vision from the Powers, remember? Plus that out-of-body interdimensional chat Xander and I had before they disappeared!"  
  
"OK, OK!" Fred said loudly. "Just lemme finish! Look, assuming all this is on the level, history has already been changed now. I mean, I'm pretty sure those three weren't supposed to go on a trip to the future like that in the original timeline, right?"  
  
"No..." Cordelia said slowly, not seeing where this was going.  
  
"So, um, maybe that prophecy existed for Future Xander and Future Faith because it happened for them; I mean, Angel losing his soul and..." The Texan girl broke off, not wanting to think about that. "But the point is, things are different now! We know what's going on, so we have a chance to change things! So, so, the prophecy doesn't exist anymore, because we changed things - or, um, *will* change things! Especially for Angel!"  
  
Everyone looked hopeful at that, till the brunette girl shook her head. "No. Xander said that even knowing what's gonna happen, no one will be able to stop Angelus from showing up... on account of there's some form of power acting that even Willow couldn't overcome, when she tried to re-soul him..."  
  
There was a silence, as everyone tried to deal with that. Giles eventually said, "Look, it's been a bloody long day and we're all tired; why don't all of you, uh, go upstairs and get some sleep? We've still got days to look for a solution, and it'll go better if we start fresh in the morning..."  
  
Some people protested, especially Buffy and Anya; but, realizing that their father figure was almost certainly correct as always, everyone soon trudged up the stairs for some desperately need shut-eye.  
  
Everyone, that is, except Wesley.  
  
The younger British man looked at his compatriot. "What?" Wes asked with a briskly cocked eyebrow. "You didn't think I'd fall for that as well, did you? I know perfectly well you're going to keep on researching all night, it's exactly what I'd do in your position..."  
  
Giles sighed, as he gestured towards his research twin. "Let's get at it, then..."  
  
***  
  
Cordelia Chase woke up a few hours later, from the throes of a horrible nightmare.  
  
At first, of course, it had been all so wonderful. The brunette woman had dreamed about the past, shortly before she had left Sunnydale and come to the City of Angels to seek her fortune as an international superstar.  
  
In the dream, after the gang had defeated the demon snake/Mayor at the blown-up high school following the Ascension, instead of just walking off... Xander had grabbed his one and only Queen C and kissed her, and then told the astonished Miss Chase that he still loved her with all his heart.  
  
And that the thing with Willow had just been a crazy mistake, on account of she was secretly gay anyway; please, could she forgive him now? And then in the former cheerleader's weirdly astonished and chaotically confused mind, the guy actually got down on one knee and asked her to marry him...  
  
The dream shifted, as the former odd couple of Sunnydale were then somehow at the altar in a church; Cordy in a white satin wedding dress and Xander in a perfect black tuxedo, and about to say, "I do".  
  
When all of a sudden, Xander's smiling face morphed into that of Angel.  
  
And after that, even though the seer was internally pleading desperately with whoever was listening for it to stop - the vampire's game face appeared, and he lunged forward for her neck...  
  
Cordelia screamed softly and woke up with a jerk, hoping that no one else had heard her yelling. After a few minutes when nobody started banging on her door, she just assumed they hadn't.  
  
Her throat parched, the messenger for the Powers went downstairs for a cool glass of water - or maybe even a wicked and enticing can of beer, the young woman was *that* stressed out - when she heard British voices arguing. Stopping at the foot of the stairs, she listened to Wesley and Giles having a majorly bad disagreement.  
  
"It can't be," Wesley kept saying over and over. "We've got to be wrong! I bloody well refuse to accept this!"  
  
Giles sighed, "I've already checked it twice, and so have you. It's all very real, so there's no point for you trying to pretend otherwise..."  
  
Wesley looked upset. "What about Cordelia's vision, the one about Angelus killing Faith?"  
  
Giles just looked at him. "As far as I know, the, ah, the visions are a warning about what might come to pass, aren't they? Well, let's um, consider ourselves duly warned. That doesn't change anything..."  
  
What are those two talking about? Cordelia wondered, her thirst suddenly forgotten.  
  
Wes then said hopelessly, "Perhaps there's some way around it?"  
  
Giles sounded impatient, "For Heaven's sake, Wesley! This is the Codex we're dealing with..."  
  
The Codex? thought Cordy in bewilderment. What the heck's that?   
  
The older Brit continued, "You should know perfectly well, that there is nothing in this particular book of Slayer prophecy which does not come to pass! I've had this conversation before, when Buffy died that first time... some prophecies are - are changeable, not set in stone. Alterable, or avoidable. But not the ones like this!"  
  
Wesley still resisted becoming a believer. "Perhaps we've mistranslated..."  
  
Giles now looked annoyed, "Both of us, working independently? Don't be such a horse's arse - I mean given all that we know, it's not even that surprising! When the time comes, Faith will face Angel-"  
  
"Are we sure that it'll be Faith?" Mr. Wyndam-Pryce interrupted desperately.  
  
"Quite sure," Rupert sighed. "Buffy was not meant to live to see her 17th birthday; all the prophecies after 1997, therefore, must refer to her successors. Wesley... Faith is still the Chosen One, her replacement, despite all that she's done in the past; there's, well, there's no room for doubt about that..."  
  
He sighed again, fiddling with his glasses. "I wish to God I was wrong about what'll happen to Angel, but all the signs are crystal clear! The prophecy says that in a few days, the Slayer will face the vampire with a soul - and upon losing it, that vampire will become dust..."  
  
Cordelia couldn't help it, she screamed; a long, loud wail of pain and denial, over her friend's horrible upcoming demise.  
  
*** 


	27. One Can Only Hope

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: FROM NOW ON, THIS STORY'S BEING WRITTEN BY JANE MCCARTNEY AND STAIRWAY MAN. In the abandoned basement where 'Neil Diamond' a.k.a. Lance Randolph had been murdered, the Kohra demon was in a foul temper.  
  
In fact, it was so completely and thoroughly pissed that it was trashing the place; smashing its fists against the walls, yelling and screaming obscenities in a language that none of the three vampires present had any possible hope of ever identifying.  
  
"What's crawled up his ass?" Gerard, the youngest bloodsucker, asked no one in particular.  
  
Luke, his sire, just sighed in boredom and stared at his lover Isabelle, who was once again filing her nails. That bitch can't think of anything better to do right now?   
  
"Vampires!" the demon suddenly howled, as it turned to face them.  
  
Luke hurried forward, "Yes, master?"  
  
"The plans have been changed," it snarled at them. "The trap that was planned for the boy - it is useless now! The Promised One is in danger. He must be protected! The Slayer and her companion must die!"  
  
It screamed out that last word, with a strange percussive force; the vamps could *feel* the magical blast emanating from its mouth, and could almost see the disturbance in the air as it travelled forth.  
  
It was way wiggy, in the undead Gerard's humble opinion.  
  
Not for the first time, the soulless bloodsucker wondered just what his sire had dragged him into. At first, of course, the undead guy had to admit that this had seemed like a fun gig; a bit of killing, a bit of feeding, possibly watching the world going up in smoke, yeah a real 'wow' kind of blast.  
  
But now "Johnny", as Isabelle loved to call him, had the feeling that his ass was on the line here. And Gerard didn't like their odds of getting away clean, not at all. Funny thing was, Luke was feeling the same way; but he quickly and thoroughly buried those treacherous and dangerous feelings to his immortal health, as he paid attention to the new orders the demon overlord started giving.  
  
Isabelle, on the other hand, was rapidly getting absolutely bored again. The red-haired vampiress was seriously thinking of just walking out on the whole thing, and finding some Happy Meals with legs; but then she spied Luke's well-built and incredibly toned physique once again, and decided she wasn't quite ready to forever abandon the incredible orgasms her lover could dish out.  
  
The Kohra demon was, however, not interested in the musings of any of these three (to him) disgusting half-breeds. All it cared about was the success of the plan, to unleash Angelus onto the world.  
  
And to be horribly, painfully, honest - the plan was proceeding very nicely, almost right on schedule.  
  
The only hope was two loose ends, that the demons intended to take care of soon.  
  
***  
  
The next morning at the Hyperion hotel, Wesley and Giles did *not* tell everyone what they had learned the previous night.  
  
They had pleaded with Cordelia, when they'd realized she was eavesdropping and before everyone came running downstairs to see what was wrong, not to say anything just yet - as they'd decided no one else needed to know the full, awful truth right now.  
  
It was a little presumptuous on their part, maybe, but prophecy is a deliciously wicked and evilly tricky thing - as Buffy Summers would have been the first to tell you, given what had happened with the Master that night of the Prom. And you never *really* know just when the fat lady's gonna start singin'.  
  
After breakfast, an important meeting was held; in which it was decided Buffy, at least, had to go back home at once.  
  
"What?" the blonde Slayer demanded, obviously not happy with the idea. "Why?"  
  
"Need I remind you about the Hellmouth, and all the demons there who would just love to open it and destroy the world?" Wesley snapped, a little tired and grouchy after spending the whole night wide awake looking for answers.  
  
"Huh, somebody's got his knickers in a right twist this morning, don't they?" Spike smirked.  
  
"Shut up, Spike," Buffy said absently, her attention focused on her former librarian. "Giles, what do you think?"  
  
The other British man rubbed his eyes, a sure sign of weariness that nobody present missed. "I-I think Wesley's right, Buffy," he said eventually. "We, we were researching all last night-"  
  
"Ha, I knew it! Pay up!" Anya said triumphantly to Dawn, who scowled over the bet she had lost and miserably handed over five bucks.  
  
"If I could continue?" Giles sighed, getting a very familiar and pestilential headache because of the youngsters. Everybody nodded. "Thank you. Now, as far as we can tell, there's nothing we can really do until the time comes for Angel, Faith and Xander to show up again..."  
  
"What?" cried Willow. "You can't mean that! We can't give up and just kill Angel - we gotta do something!"  
  
"We will," the older ex-Watcher assured her. "For now though, all we can do is try to generate ideas; but more importantly, the Hellmouth needs its guardian back. God only knows what's happened back home, since yesterday..."  
  
"Fine, fine," Buffy sulked. She then turned to her little sister, "Dawn? Meet you at the car in five minutes..."  
  
"Buffy!" the former Key looked upset.  
  
"Hey! It's still a school day, and you can't help here," the blonde girl said firmly. She looked around at the rest of the Slayerettes. "Who else is coming?"  
  
"I am," Spike spoke up at once. "Think I wanna stay around 'ere any longer than I got to? I'd rather watch Drusilla get it on with Angelus or something!" Everyone glared at the soulless vampire, who too late realized the horrifying and torturous implications of what he'd just said. "Well, uh, so to speak..."  
  
Anya decided to let everyone know of her plans, "If any of you think I'm leaving here before I get Xander back? You're nuts!"  
  
Giles looked at her for a moment, amazed as always at her bluntness. I wonder if she and Cordelia are, are related somehow? "I, um, I guess I'll be heading off as well - there are books and reference materials back in Sunnydale, that I simply must check out..."  
  
"Really?" Cordy's sharp, miserable voice spoke up for the first time. "And just what do you think you'll find in them?"  
  
All the present ones turned to look at the seer, not understanding the complete and utter hopelessness in her voice; as they had no idea about the new prophecy in the Codex, that had been discovered the previous night.  
  
"Hope, Cordelia," Giles answered her softly. "I'm looking for hope..."  
  
***  
  
The Scoobies soon left for home, with a grumbling Spike put into the boot of the car this time to make room for a vast number of borrowed research materials. "I'm gonna suffocate in 'ere!" he yelled.  
  
"But you don't breathe!" Dawn yelled back.  
  
"It's the bloody thought that counts," his voice could be heard, as the car roared off. And Anya then went off to buy some supplies, magical and otherwise, for her upcoming extended stay.  
  
Strangely enough, Tara had decided not to go home either; Willow had wanted her to, of course, but the older witch had simply told her lover that she had the funny feeling she would be needed here, and that they would see each other again soon.  
  
And as soon as the Slayer and her pals were gone, Cordelia came to a decision. This whole mess had arisen because of idiotic and needless secrecy and lies, and she was damned if she would let it go on any longer. "Tell them," Cordy said harshly to the British man, as soon as all the Fang Gang was together. "Either you tell 'em, or I will!"  
  
Fred and Gunn looked at her, then at Wesley; and realizing that the jig was up, the ex-Watcher just sighed in defeat and told them about the prophecy.  
  
"No way!" Fred screamed in horror.  
  
Gunn looked no less shocked, as Wes told them the whole story. "This is friggin' insane..."  
  
Tara was the only one left, with any semblance of remaining calm. "I-I've heard what happened with Buffy, all those years ago," she stammered. "But d- didn't she manage to get around this sort of prophecy, back then?"  
  
"No," Wesley sighed. "According to Rupert, it truly was inevitable - Buffy died like she was destined to. It was just that - that Xander was there, to bring her back..."  
  
"So, so, we just gotta find some way to bring Angel back as well?" Fred asked.  
  
"I don't think it's that simple," Wesley insisted. "The prophecy was clear, that Angel will become dust after losing his soul..."  
  
"Then, we find a way so that he *doesn't* lose his soul!" Cordelia looked like she'd had some sort of epiphany. "Couldn't we just, y'know, sort of put it into safe storage, like the Hope diamond or something?"  
  
"You mean transfer it, before it's lost? Get around the prophecy, like before, somehow..." Wesley scratched his head, and had the surprised and confused appearance of a man who could not believe he had never even considered that particular course of action.  
  
"Yes!" most of the Angelites chorused.  
  
Their leader shrugged. "Right then. What do we have to lose, by trying?"  
  
*** 


	28. Chaos Theory

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: FROM NOW ON, THIS STORY'S BEING WRITTEN BY JANE MCCARTNEY AND STAIRWAY MAN.  
  
*** [The day of Angelus' ascension]  
  
At St. Matthew's hospital, nobody seemed to have any idea that the possible upcoming end of the world was near.  
  
It was a fact as well that Dr. Michael Penn and Nurse Kelly Marshall, after their brush with death nearly a week before, had gotten a lot closer. The nurse's roommate Carla had teased her about it, but not too much - as almost anyone with eyes could tell, that things were getting very serious between the sort-of couple.  
  
All the hospital staff realized the new situation at once, of course. Michael and Kelly's silly grins at each other, the occasional touching of hands, the way they started sticking to one another like glue... put it all together, and it spelled 'duh'.  
  
In fact, most of Michael's colleagues got a betting pool going, one that the sandy-haired man knew nothing about; and all the doctors and some of the nurses were wagering on exactly *when* their medical colleagues were gonna get all horizontal and jiggy.  
  
Not to mention, when Michael and Kelly were going to end up in Splitsville; as it was a very naughty and sad fact, that hospital romances just *never* turn out well.  
  
Things ended up not looking good, for the people who'd bet on an early conquest. Dr. Penn and Nurse Marshall had their first date the same night after the interview with Kate Lockley and Harlan, and he was a perfect gentleman.  
  
But on the second date the very next evening, it looked like things were changing.  
  
On the third date, it was obvious Mr. Wiggly wanted action...  
  
And just last night, inevitably, the doctor and the nurse had finally gone all the way in their pursuit of happiness.  
  
The winner of the prize pool ended up with a holiday to Brazil and later happily said to his girlfriend, "Honey, pack your bags! This weekend it's flying on down to Rio, for you-o and me-o..."  
  
But as they were doing her rounds, Kelly stopped at Cordelia's old room and got a strange look on her face. Michael noticed and asked, "What is it, sweetheart?"  
  
Nurse Marshall looked at her lover, not quite used to all the romantic endearments from him yet. "This was Miss Chase's room, wasn't it? You remember, the woman we thought had been stabbed by Mr. Harris that night - Xander...?"  
  
Michael frowned, and then rememberance came to him. "Oh, yeah, him. Huh, I guess it is..."  
  
The blonde woman frowned as well, as the memories started to come back. "Today's the day, isn't it..."  
  
"What day?" the doc asked in confusion.  
  
"I remember..." Kelly started to say. "When I first met Xander that night, he babbled something about..." she paused for a moment. "Oh, seven days! That he had seven days, that whoever had sent him back-"  
  
"Kelly, please," Dr. Penn hastened to say, looking around. "Could we not think about that right now? Whatever... happened that day at the warehouse, it's over now. And personally, I'd like to concentrate on something else..." He leaned down to kiss her.  
  
The nurse giggled, as their liplock began. "Doctor, please!" she spluttered, as the curly-haired woman eventually moved away in mock- indignation. "We're on duty!"  
  
Michael groaned, about all those pesky and bothersome rules about professional conduct that all the hospital staff had to adhere to. "Tonight, then," he promised her.  
  
"Tonight," Kelly promised back, with a wicked gleam in her eyes.  
  
***  
  
At the Hyperion hotel, an important council of war was taking place.  
  
The Slayer and her Scooby gang had arrived from Sunnydale, first thing in the morning - ready and eager for action. And it was at that point, that Giles and Wes came clean to everyone who didn't know about the prophecy in the Codex.  
  
Buffy, of course, was livid about the cover-up. "I can't believe this!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, mostly at Wes as he was easier to blame. "Angel's gonna die? What the hell is the matter with you, keeping something like that a secret?"  
  
"Young lady, don't you *dare* try to lecture me," Wesley hissed angrily at her, his patience and understanding completely vanished after nearly a week of stressfully trying to figure out a way to avert disaster. "Or have you forgotten how not that long ago, *you* were perfectly willing to let the whole world be destroyed - rather than kill an innocent?"  
  
That hit way below the belt, as everyone looked at him in shock. "What's the matter?" the British man snapped irritably. "You can't believe I just said that, or that I actually knew about what happened? Miss Summers, I am not your Watcher - and if we're going to be brutally honest, I never really was. So take that tone with Mr. Giles if you must, but not with me. *Never* with me..."  
  
Buffy stepped back, and took a good hard look at this guy that had called her out on past decisions. And what she saw there, almost frightened her.  
  
Wes had tangled messy hair, was dressed in smelly sweat-stained clothes, and beginning to grow an unkempt scruffy beard. His eyes were desperately wild, plus he had a 'Ripper'-ish air about him; and even though the blonde Slayer had only seen that side of Giles a few times, she knew better than to piss off her pseudo-father when he was ever in that state.  
  
Fortunately, Giles stepped in to smooth things over. "Both of you, please calm down," the British man said in a completely calming and conciliatory voice. "Fighting amongst ourselves, i-isn't going to help any..."  
  
"He's right," Spike decided to support Giles, even though he was extremely jealous over Buffy's reaction to the big poof's more-than-deserved upcoming death. "Come on, luv..." he tried to get Buffy to calm down, and slowly she did so.  
  
"So, um, what's the situation?" asked Willow, who was almost as freaked as her best friend.  
  
"We tried to figure out a way to get around the prophecy," Cordelia said slowly, not looking at anyone. She was not handling this well at all, and no wonder.  
  
"But we didn't get very far," Anya then chimed in, more worried about Xander than anything else.  
  
"Yeah, even had this wacky idea about trying to transfer the undead guy's soul, but we couldn't figure out any safe way to do it," Gunn quickly shrugged. "These guys who said they coulda done it for us? One's an evil casino owner, and the other's this freaky ninja-like guy. Wouldn't trust them to pull out a tooth, let alone someone's soul."  
  
Tara Maclay, standing on the fringes of the group, turned away when she heard that. Because the truth was, *she* had figured out something with regards to that angle - even though it was a plan that was a desperate, foolhardy, ultimately-last-resort kind of thing.  
  
A few nights ago, she had asked Wesley to assist her in a strange ritual to conjure up an artefact to do the job - and even though the ex-Watcher had had no real idea what that had been all about, Tara had succeeded in the task. And was now ready to sacrifice herself, if it came down to that.  
  
"We, we eventually came up with a-a compromise," Fred stuttered in her Texan accent. "Using a portal-"  
  
"A what?" Buffy exclaimed. Unable to help it, memories danced the macarena inside her head - Angelus getting his soul back, the vortex to Hell opening up, gut-wrenching misery as she had to kill the man she loved... again. "You wanna send him to another dimension? Forget it! Been there, done that. Like Xander once said, that's like trying to smother a forest fire with napalm!"  
  
"Well, we have to do *something*, Buffy!" Cordelia almost looked semi- insane from the lack of sleep. "You wanna just stake him before he kills you and the others, like Xander warned me about? No, wait, I know! You could hold him down, and get Spike to do it for you - we all know how he'd get *such* a kick out of it, too!"  
  
"Oy, 'ang on!" Spike looked insulted. "That *is* my grandsire you're talkin' about, even if he is nothing but a useless ponce-!"  
  
As everyone started arguing, Willow and Tara slipped away from the group, trying to ignore the shouts and painful recriminations. "Now I understand why we all don't meet together more often," the redhead murmured softly to her beloved.  
  
"Yeah," Tara turned around briefly, and then looked at Willow. "Um, I have an idea..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, you remember how Cordelia told us that Xander, Faith and Angel were sent to the future, to only a few minutes before he loses his soul..."  
  
"Right, so?" the former witch was confused.  
  
"So..." Tara looked oddly hesitant. " I uncovered something in Wesley's books. What if we tried to bring them back a bit early? Say, now-ish? We-we could find Angel, a-and explain the situation to him. It's his, um, un- life, after all; after we give him all the facts, we let him make his own decision..."  
  
Miss Rosenberg looked astonished. "Tara! If you think we could have done something like that before, why didn't you say anything until now?"  
  
Tara looked down, before staring at her life partner. "Willow... my m- mother taught me about those magicks, that's how I knew what to look for. B- but she also warned me how dangerous they could be. And now with both the Powers That Be and the Evil Guys involved, it would be even more risky..."  
  
"Okay," the former Wicca gave up and nodded her head, appreciating the danger. "Well, then let's get you started..."  
  
"Uh, I can't do it alone," Tara said softly, so much so that it was barely a whisper. "You, you have to help me. You're the only one powerful enough..."  
  
Willow felt her insides freeze, as she finally understood now why Tara had *really* delayed putting this off until the very last moment. Because the redhead had sworn to never do magic again, after her last binge had nearly gotten Dawn killed a few months ago; and now, her lover was the putting the unamusing beer bottle right back into the hands of the recovering alcoholic, asking her to do this.  
  
As the gazes of the two women locked, their eyes shone with bright, unshed, hot and salty tears; both of them knowing, what the consequences of this ultimately bad idea would almost certainly be.  
  
"For the world," Willow said, closing her eyes and accepting her uncertain fate.  
  
"And for all of Angelus's victims in it," Tara whispered back, briefly shutting her own heavy eyelids as well.  
  
And so, as the arguments of the others raged about in the hotel lounge, the two witches sat down and began a ritual as dangerous as it was ancient.  
  
Finally, when it was done, there was an incredible flash of white light - and Evil, caught unaware with its pants down, lost this round of the eternal battle to bring about Armageddon.  
  
*** 


	29. The Ascencion aka Next Of Kin

Title: Loose Ends  
  
Author: Jane McCartney  
  
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.  
  
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?  
  
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br  
  
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.  
  
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work - I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.  
  
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me - please. I'm just doing the best I can here.  
  
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?  
  
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: FROM NOW ON, THIS STORY'S BEING WRITTEN BY JANE MCCARTNEY AND STAIRWAY MAN.  
  
***  
  
The countdown was almost complete - there was just a little over an hour to go, before Angelus would be around to say, "Showtime!"  
  
It was at that moment that the evil silver medallions of the Kohra demons began to glow, warning their owners of what Tara and Willow had just done.  
  
"No!" screamed their leader. "Those damned witches-!" It then whirled to face Luke, Isabelle and Gerard. "Vampires! Order the army you have formed, to attack our enemies at once!"  
  
The three bloodsuckers, astonished at the anger - and fear? - that they saw in the demon's face, simply nodded and obeyed.  
  
***  
  
At the hospital, Angel arrived not with a bang but with a whimper.  
  
The souled vampire groaned, as he felt a pounding headache. The former Scourge of Europe remembered what had happened... Cordelia! What the - why did she hit me like that?   
  
He groaned again, as he tried to get off the floor - and then Angel saw the astonished faces of a family that was inexplicably suddenly in the room with him.  
  
"How the hell did you get in here?" asked a tall man, who was most likely the father of the person now in the bed.  
  
"Yeah!" exclaimed the patient, as the rest of the family looked on in wonder. "How'd you show up out of thin air? Are you like a magician?"  
  
Angel didn't understand, either the questions or what had happened to him, and just quickly got up and vanished out the door with vampire super-speed.  
  
First things first, the 249-year-old guy thought to himself. Gotta find Cordy... Then he stumbled upon Dr. Penn and Nurse Marshall in the corridor, groping and kissing once again. "Um, excuse me?"  
  
Both medical people broke away at once, their faces flushed as they tried to straighten their clothing. "Can I help you?" Kelly said, in a somewhat squeaky voice.  
  
Angel grinned, "I'm looking for Cordelia Chase. She's a patient around here somewhere..."  
  
Michael and the nurse looked at each other. The Armani-clad doctor then said to the undead guy, "Ah, you must be mistaken. Miss Chase was discharged from the hospital, nearly a week ago..."  
  
Angel was stunned. "What? Uh, wait up - what's the date?"  
  
Kelly told him.  
  
Angel was even more stunned. "How the hell-? Did I just skip forward in time a few days, or what-?"  
  
Nurse Marshall was astonished herself, and again she was reminded of Xander's semi-insane babblings - the first night she'd met him. "Uh, sir?" she started to say. "Do you know a Xander Harris, by any chance?"  
  
Angel stared at her, just like Michael did too. "Yeah, he recently tried to kill me," his voice grew harder. "Did he get to Cordelia?" The vampire couldn't help it - despite the last few enlightening words he'd had with the seer, the former Angelus somehow couldn't help blaming the boy for all this in his head.  
  
"No, no," Michael rushed to reassure him, getting a very weird vibe from this guy. "As far as we know, she's fine, recovered from the PCP gang attack..." the doctor paused. "Although from what I saw of the extent of Mr. Harris's injuries, I'm not sure we can say the same for him..."  
  
Angel was now thoroughly confused, and demanded Michael and Kelly tell him everything - which they did. "What?" the souled vamp said, thoroughly perplexed. "Faith's with Xander now?"  
  
"You know her too?" the sandy-haired doctor exclaimed. "This is getting too weird..."  
  
"I agree completely," Angel said, making up his mind to go home at once. "Excuse me, but I gotta go..." He then rushed off, leaving the bewildered doctor and nurse behind in his dust.  
  
And it is a sad fact that, despite everything, Michael Penn and Kelly Marshall never did find out just what all the strange events of that week had really been all about.  
  
***  
  
In the street outside the warehouse, Xander and Faith arrived into the world at the same moment Angel did.  
  
"Whoa!" Faith exclaimed, as the brunette Slayer - from her point of view - saw all the cops vanish into thin air. She looked at her partner, "How did you *do* that?"  
  
Xander just grinned, and started off towards the Hyperion. Dragging Faith along, he quickly told her about what had happened - the conversation with Cordy, the spell to send them into the future, everything.  
  
"So how much time do we got now?" the rogue Slayer asked, hesitant now that the end was suddenly and abruptly so near.  
  
Xander could easily pick up her nervousness. "Cordelia said just a few minutes," as they came close to the hotel. "Are you OK?"  
  
It was obvious to anybody with a pair of eyes that the answer was no. "Yeah," Faith grunted.  
  
Xander stopped, and took her hand in his. "I'm sorry Faith," he told her, as they quickly hugged. "I told you, you don't have to do it..."  
  
"Yeah, right," the Chosen One shot back. "You think *you* can take Angel, now that we've lost the element of surprise?"  
  
"Probably not," Xander said, suddenly emotionless. "But you won't plunge the stake in either, if you get him against the ropes in a fight - that's why I'm here, and we both know it."  
  
So saying, the two warriors finally reached their destination - and saw that the Hyperion hotel was now a war zone.  
  
***  
  
Vampires and demons were fighting viciously against the Scooby Gang plus the Fang Gang - desperately looking for Angel and Faith and Xander too, but finding none of them there.  
  
The battle raged on, as Buffy staked vampires left and right. Gunn had his trademark axe, and was dusting the bloodsuckers as well. Spike was just happily tearing the demons apart with his bare hands, very glad that his chip didn't work against them. Giles, Cordelia and Wesley had their crossbows, and were taking out any strays that the big hitters missed.  
  
Willow and Tara were close together, side-by-side - as Lorne had taken Dawn, Fred and Anya away on Buffy's orders, at the first sight of the invading army. The blonde Wicca muttered, as she magically blasted away a vamp, "Now would be a good time..."  
  
Throwing away all self-control, the redhead threw back her head, let her eyes go black and invoked a spell to let loose a great big ball of sunshine.  
  
The vampire mercenaries started burning, and quickly decided enough was enough - they weren't going to die like this, just for blood or money. Abandoning the fight despite the demons' orders, they all quickly left the scene...  
  
Gerard, in particular. The young vamp noticed out of the corner of his eye Luke and Isabelle quickly getting staked and beheaded respectively by the white hats, and as he decided to head for Mexico. "Johnny" thought smugly, Good riddance...   
  
It was at this point, Faith and Xander joined the good guys.  
  
And also, that one of the Kohra demons hit Tara with a determined knife attack.  
  
"No!" screamed Willow. She quickly started to fry all the minions of Evil with her magicks, completely ignoring anyone and everything else around her. Soon enough, nearly all the demons were down...  
  
As Faith and Xander reached the fallen blonde witch, they heard her mumble "Pocket..." as her hand moved to her side; and then Tara Maclay, age 22, died.  
  
"Oh, shit..." Faith cursed, as she looked around at the ruined remains of Angel Investigations, on the lookout for any new possible threats. Xander didn't listen - he just checked Tara's pocket, and withdrew that particular something the witchy woman had held in reserve in case all else failed.  
  
"What is this?" Xander asked his brunette partner, as he held up the artefact - which was a Draconian katra device.  
  
Faith's breath caught, as she recognized it. "Oh my God..."  
  
"What?"  
  
The Slayer looked at her companion, with sudden hope in her heart. "Remember when I pulled that body-switching stunt with B, way back when? Well, this is the kind of thing that did it! And reversed it! Xander, the guys - they thought of something other than just killing Angel! Maybe we can save him - by one of us switching bodies with him! I'll just take it and-"  
  
But Xander held it away, as he stared at this woman who had been his first. "Hold on. Look, we both know that it'll work on two people of the same gender... but how do we know it'll work, if *you* try it on a guy?"  
  
Faith stopped in horror. "Xand, no way! This is my job, damn it! 'Cause let's face it, I'm just a killer! You don't have to do this - you're not guilty of anything!"  
  
"This isn't about guilt or punishment, Faith," Xander said in a calm, controlled voice that Faith didn't like at all. "This is about winning a war we've both damn well sacrificed everything for. This is about reducing your risks to the absolute minimum. You give me one, good, non-emotional reason for you to do this instead of me - and I'll hand it over..."  
  
The two ex-lovers engaged in a brief battle of wills - but in the end, as Xander had foreseen, there was nothing Faith could say that would change his mind.  
  
A huge Mohra demon then attacked them, charging in and roaring with fury - and Faith briefly forgot about everything else, as she struggled in this sudden mortal combat.  
  
Xander briefly scribbled one word on a loose piece of paper he saw just in case, and quietly abandoning his friends to their fate, went out towards his awaiting destiny. Which was a lot closer than he'd thought, as when Xander reached the front doors of the hotel - Angel arrived.  
  
"Xander?" the vampire was briefly stunned, taking in the mortal's condition. He could smell the dried blood, before the soon-to-be Scourge of Europe suddenly remembered all that had happened. He growled, "Where's Cordelia?"  
  
Xander shook his head, "No idea. Haven't seen her in almost a week - and apparently, neither have you..."  
  
Angel lost his temper, and grabbed the young man. "I've had enough of this crap! Now what's going on, damn it? Why did you try to kill me!?"  
  
Xander stared at him, and once again Angel could see the rage and empty hollowness in his eyes. But there was something else there now, too - just a crazy shade of hope.  
  
The human whispered the prophecy he had memorized, "Woe unto all the people of the world, for a great power of darkness will be released. Let men fear, for the Scourge of Europe will rise once again, spreading fear and destruction in his wake along five continents."  
  
The man from Sunnydale continued to quote, ignoring Angel's shock, "His fires will burn, and children will be the kindling. Evil will have no mercy, and the blood of the innocents will stain the scorched earth red."  
  
"You're crazy!" Angel shouted, letting Xander go and moving back. "What are you-"  
  
"No more games," Xander interrupted, shaking his head. "You *will* lose your soul, Deadboy. I've seen it, and lived through it. Seven days, Angel - I had seven day to stop you from destroying the world, from that night when I came back from the future. But time's up now..."  
  
"So, what?" the souled vamp stared at this young man - who he *knew* had always hated him. "You expect me to just take your word, for all that?"  
  
"No, but I'm thinkin' you'll take Faith's. 'Cause she came back with me - and she knows everything I do! The same guy recruited her to help stop you - I mean, Angelus..."  
  
Angel continued to shake his head, refusing to accept it. "No frickin' way! This is insane..."  
  
Xander came up close to him, and held up his hand with the magical device in it. "I didn't think it was possible, but the gang found a possible loophole. An alternative to just staking you, to prevent all that..."  
  
"What do ya mean?" asked the Irish-born undead, still unable to believe he was having this conversation.  
  
"Take my hand. Please. 'Cause if you don't, I swear in a few minutes you'll lose your soul - and eventually you'll kill everybody. And I don't want to see Buffy die in my arms again, or hear Cordelia choke to death on her own blood, or stake Anya after you turn her..."  
  
The vampire could *feel* the truth in Xander's words, even if he didn't want to. And suddenly, all the events of the last 48 hours started to make a crazy sort of sense - Xander's inexplicable reluctance while trying to kill him, Cordelia's sudden attack at the hospital after that vision...  
  
Feeling like he was caught up in a dream, the vampire slowly took hold of the human's hand with his own - and then the Draconian katra device began to glow. A few moments later, Angel looked up to see a sight he had not seen since he'd left that demon dimension called Pylea - the sight of his own face and body, staring back at him.  
  
And that was when an Angel-shaped fist hit him right between the eyes, knocking the former vamp out cold.  
  
***  
  
When Angel came to a few minutes later, he was aware of pain. Pain from the blow Xander had given him, and pain from the arguing voices he heard in the background.  
  
"I can't believe Xander would actually try to do something like that!!" Buffy's enraged shout rang out. "Faith, what the hell is the matter with you? Letting him go off to pull a stunt like this..." It was obvious that the two Slayers had been talking for a while, and the blonde one wasn't currently thinking about old animosities.  
  
"Buffy, please calm down," Giles' quiet, comforting voice made his former protégé shut up. "The fact is, I-I think Xander decided to make the only choice he could, that didn't involve cold-blooded murder..."  
  
"Whatever, I think it's nuts too," Gunn's cynical shrug-off was easily heard, if not seen.  
  
"Yeah, right," Cordelia's sarcastic tone was evident. "Like Xander woulda done this willingly? Come on! He hates vampires more than anything, and to make this sort of sacrifice..."  
  
"Hey, wait up! He's awake!" Faith's husky voice then stated.  
  
Angel groaned, and then looked at himself in horror. The former 18th century Irishman could see hands, shoes, and clothes that were not his own, and hear a heartbeat that he *knew* he did not have. "What the hell-?" he whispered.  
  
"Xander?" the former vampire heard Buffy ask hesitantly.  
  
And as soon as Angel locked eyes with the former love of his life, he said, "I'm not Xander," at the same time that Buffy said, "That's not Xander," in a way-creepy duet.  
  
"Holy shit, he did it?!" Faith asked in wonder.  
  
"This is gettin' too weird," Gunn stated for the record, as he tried to comprehend how his erstwhile friend and colleague was now occupying the body of a man he had disliked almost from the moment they'd met. "Man..."  
  
"The prophecy," Wesley spoke up for the first time. "How does this affect the prophecy we found in the Codex?"  
  
Angel, in Xander's body, looked stunned. "What? The Codex says I really was destined to lose my soul and go on a killing spree, like Xander said?"  
  
"No, Xa- I mean, Angel," Giles looked around and made a decision to tell the former undead all he knew. "It said that Faith was destined to face the vampire with a soul, and kill him when he lost it..."  
  
The reborn human looked stunned as Wesley then interjected, "I don't understand - if Angel's here, in this body, then Xander-"  
  
"-is gonna lose his soul in Angel's body," Cordelia felt the light bulb go off in her head. "Oh man, we gotta find him!"  
  
At that point, Faith spied the paper on the floor. She quickly grabbed it, and looked at the others. "The warehouse..."  
  
***  
  
By the time they all arrived there, the time-traveler named Xander Harris had already resigned himself to his fate. The human-turned-vampire was waiting quietly in a hastily-constructed cage in the warehouse, when all the members of the Angelites and the Scoobies barged in.  
  
Including Anya, who had been informed of the situation and now didn't know what to do in any way, shape, or form. "Xander?" she asked the brooding Angel-shape in the cage.  
  
"Yeah, Ahn, it's me - and honey, I'm so glad to see ya," the former Zeppo smiled at his beloved, before looking at all the others present. "But I don't get why... I mean, I shoulda gone all soulless ages ago..."  
  
Faith quickly filled him in, her eyes showing sadness but her voice forcing coolness. "Red and her gal pal, they brought us back early, stud-"  
  
Xander, in Angel's body, looked around. "Where is Will?"  
  
"In the psychiatric wing of St. Matthew's hospital," Giles settled his glasses on his nose. "She, uh, she had a breakdown after we lost Tara..."  
  
Xander sighed in deep sorrow and horrible frustration. "Tell her I'm sorry, later..."  
  
Angel stepped forward, as he and Xander shared a long look. The former vamp didn't know what to say, so the American undead was the first to break the silence with a lopsided smile, "May the Force be with you always, young Jedi..."  
  
Angel didn't waste time with platitudes, and ridiculous pop-cultural references. "Xander, please. You, you mustn't do this..."  
  
The ensouled vampire shook his head. "Yes I must, and yes I will."  
  
"No way!" Buffy shouted. "You think I'm just gonna let this happen? I'm getting you out of there-" and she made her way to the cage.  
  
"I saw you dead after Angelus killed you," Xander's cold voice stopped her at once. "I know that you don't want to hear this, Buff, but apart from Dawnie and Faith... as far as I'm concerned? You've all been dead for weeks. You let me out of here, you're committing suicide!"  
  
"Damn it, Xander, no! There's got to be another way!" Cordelia cried out, and no one missed her real feelings for the man evident in her voice.  
  
Xander looked at her sadly, regretting for the last time what had happened with his high school sweetheart. "Sorry, Cor. Maybe there mighta been - but now, we're outta time. Like I said, whatever it takes - including my life..." Then he looked at his other family and friends, focusing on Anya.  
  
His one true love, that he would soon lose forever. "I'm sorry, Ahn. I love you..."  
  
Faith looked at her watch, and started in horror. "I think we got less than a minute here-!"  
  
And then it happened - the Angel-shaped body let out a howl of pain, and collapsed to the ground.  
  
A few seconds later it jumped back up, as the soulless demon looked around - grinning and chuckling at them all. He stared at the women that Xander had been 'intimate' with - Faith and Anya. "Hello, ladies..."  
  
***  
  
"Angelus?" asked Spike in semi-wonder.  
  
"Not exactly," the now worst nightmare of both the Slayers began walking around his cage, a damnable smirk never leaving his lips. "Although you can call me that if you want, Captain Peroxide..."  
  
"Reckon I should call ya 'whelp' instead," the British undead muttered, as he sent a semi-confused glance to Angel in Xander's body.  
  
"Don't think Slutty the vampire layer would like that too much," the caged vamp sniggered. "You trying to send me a message or what? 'Cause hey! You shoulda taken a shower, if you didn't want me to smell her scent all over you! How long you been boning that emotionless freak, anyway?"  
  
All the others looked at the duo in shock - Angel, in particular, feeling very betrayed. "None of your business," the blonde girl snapped without thinking, then wincing at her thoughtless choice of words.  
  
"So you admit it? Huh! Well, I always knew that once you got a taste of vamp lovin', you can never go back..." the demon laughed.  
  
Then the evil vamp smirked towards Spike, "Too bad she doesn't love you, ya know - not like she loved her "Angel" over there," he nodded towards the direction of Xander's body. "And thing is, she never will! You wanna know why? Because deep down - you're just a filthy, soulless demon. Exactly like me," again Angel's face showed that cruel, sadistic grin.  
  
Spike said nothing to that, but as he shrugged the chipped vampire knew the other guy was right. Guess there's nothing else for it, then. I'll have to go see that demon legend I heard about in Africa, about getting my soul back...   
  
"Xander..." Faith started to say.  
  
"Save it," the demon in Angel's body snapped. "Your boy toy's gone, lover. And he ain't coming back!"  
  
"We'll see..." Giles said in a grim manner, as Wesley nodded his head - trying to figure out a way to deal with all this.  
  
Faith looked utterly emotionless. "I was just gonna ask, why you still in there? Cage that weak couldn't hold anybody with vamp strength - and I don't think you'd mind taking your chances with two Slayers..."  
  
The soulless creature's eyes went wide with new-found respect. "Soul Boy thought of that," he gestured vaguely. "That's why he came up with a plan. I try to bust outta here, that bomb goes off..."  
  
Everyone looked around, to see a device leaning against a covered-up window close to the cage.  
  
"...sunlight comes in, and I get deep-fried. Either that, or the place is wired to blow at sunset. But I figure, you guys won't let that happen - you'll come up with a way to get me out of here safely! After all, you're gonna try to restore my soul..."  
  
"Only one problem with that scenario," Faith interjected stonily. "I'm from the future, remember? I *know* that's not gonna work. You think you'll escape, when we try something like that. And odds are, you'll succeed..."  
  
"What are you doing?" Fred asked, as the brunette Slayer took out a stake and headed for the cage.  
  
"This *thing* isn't Xander. Or Angel. My partner gave his life, to save the world from *that*! And I'm not gonna let it be for nothing..." the ex- Boston girl explained, as she got ready to attack.  
  
"Faith, you can't do this! Screw the prophecy!" Dawn cried out in horror, and then looked a little ashamed at her language.  
  
Angel said hurriedly, "Wait! What if I just use that magic thing again, and switch us back-"  
  
"He hasn't got a soul, remember?" Cordelia looked exasperated. "It'll never work! Or if it did, you'd only end up getting a soulless demon in a human body!"  
  
Gunn shook his head, cursing the day he'd ever gotten involved with these people and moving closer to Fred. "Unbelievable..."  
  
While the others were bickering, Anya came as close to the cage as she dared and stared at the vampire. "Xander?" she asked timorously.  
  
"Sorry," the demon recovered his smirk. "But, funny thing, I still remember everything he ever did. Including what you taught him about sex! So, how are ya, Ahn?"  
  
The blonde woman stared at the vampire, seeing Faith on the other side of the cage and suddenly marvelling how easy this was going to be. "Pregnant," she said softly, as the demon's eyes went wide. "That's why I have to do this-"  
  
Taking out the axe she'd kept hidden behind her back, Anya swung at the bars as Angel's body stepped back in horror. "No!"  
  
Everything then seemed to happen very quickly.  
  
The axe hit the bars, and the bomb - which had been set on a hair trigger - instantly exploded.  
  
Sunlight streamed in, and that which had been Xander Harris in Angel's vampire body began to burn.  
  
"You bitch! I''ll kill you! I'll-" the vampire tried to get out of the cage, as Spike shied away from the deadly sunshine. But it was too late - his ensouled self had planned too well, and a few seconds later the flaming corpse disintegrated into dust, as Faith looked stunned in horror.  
  
A few moments later, everyone looked on in horror as well. "Anya! What have you done!?" Buffy screamed.  
  
"What none of you could have possibly done," the former demon winced, as she put a hand to her belly. "Giving the man I love peace and rest. And making sure that my unborn child has a future, this time around..."  
  
Anya then looked around at everyone, who were stunned at the news. "I'm going home, to grieve for my husband. I'll see most of you back in Sunnydale-" Then she stopped, and looked at Angel in Xander's body. "By the way, don't try to find me! My pregnancy has got nothing to do with you, even if you *are* inhabiting the body that's responsible for my condition..." The girl then swept out of the warehouse, to catch the next bus home.  
  
Wesley looked around at everyone. "My God, the prophecy," he said in wonder. "It's, it's come true..."  
  
"I thought you said Faith would kill Xander, though?" Buffy asked in confusion.  
  
"The exact wording was, 'the Slayer will face the vampire with a soul - and upon losing it, that vampire will become dust'," Giles said quickly, as he looked sadly at the dusty remains in question. "We just, ah, assumed Faith would stake him..."  
  
"No! That wasn't what I meant," Wesley stated cryptically, as he stared at Angel.  
  
"Then what did you mean?" Dawn asked in confusion, trying to bury the horror she still felt over watching her old crush die.  
  
"I was, uh, referring to the prophecy I found in the scrolls of Aberjian," the younger ex-Watcher said slowly. "Angel - you, you've become human. The Powers have given you your shanshu - as in, you get to live now, even if it's not in the way that we all thought it would be..."  
  
Cordelia somehow just couldn't deal with that.  
  
Watching the soul of the first guy she had ever truly loved get torn apart, seeing his undead body disintegrating next, and then facing the fact that her ex-vampire friend lived on his human remains... it was just too much, and she quickly ran out of the warehouse.  
  
And as everyone else stared in wonder at the former Champion, in the higher realms the Powers That Be turned their attention towards newer, harder, upcoming problems - now that the earthly plane was safe once more.  
  
The loose ends with this case had finally been taken care of.  
  
THE END  
  
Hey, all! So it's finally over... well, it's been a really long way, but we've made it after all. A big, no, the biggest thank you to Theo - we wrote this, from chapter 24 to this last one, together. And thanks for all the reviews - you guys seriously rocks. Really. 


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